Caddickisms » rumor

TIDBABSH 2: Part 2: Return of The Australian

Jeff — Tue, 03 May 2011 17:37:41 +0000

If you thought he was gone, you weren’t paying attention.

He’s back! He’s opinionated! He’s Australian! He’s spent more time thinking about pop culture than is probably healthy!

And that last bit actually pays off in this, the second half of our conversation, as Lee Sargent and I concentrate on pop culture and movie/TV news and rumors, including a run down of why Wonder Woman’s shorts are annoying, which Pixar films shouldn’t get sequels (but are), and two super-hero showdowns! (listen to part 1 for the beginning of the exciting discussion).

To be specific, we get into these items (and of course, ramble about other related things):

Costner in Superman: Man of Steel
Superman will be a ‘wild ride’
Is Justice League film coming?
Superhero fight gets nasty
Pixar Prequels (Monsters Inc)
Bill and Ted 3
Wonder Woman wears short-shorts
Warner Bros. apologizes for original Green Lantern trailer
Trailers:

You might want to take a look at any of those trailers you haven’t seen yet for some context before you listen. There’s some good stuff there!

Done yet? No? That’s okay, we’ll wait.

…

No, seriously… take your time.

…

Alright then, just click play. You know you want to! Leave your thoughts in the comments! And don’t forget to visit Lee at Quit Your Day Job and Lee and Dan’s Midnight Movie Club podcast.

Doctor Who rumors

Jeff — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 13:26:19 +0000

First, two rumors I hope are false…

This first one I’m pretty positive is false, but here it is: apparently some bookies in the UK are looking for something to bet on (World Cup and Wimbledon not enough for them?), so they’re saying that since the current season of Doctor Who didn’t pull in the same level of ratings as David Tennant’s seasons, the BBC is considering replacing Matt Smith. They’ve provided a list of the odds for replacements (which, even if the rumor were true, would be a stupid list).

4/1 David Morrissey
5/1 Chiwetel Ejiofor
8/1 Next Doctor To Be Female
10/1 Patterson Joseph
12/1 James Nesbitt
14/1 Robert Carlyle
14/1 David Walliams
14/1 Richard Coyle
14/1 Tom Ellis
20/1 John Simm
20/1 Rhys Ifans
20/1 Anthony Head
20/1 Julian Walsh
20/1 Jason Statham
25/1 James Corden
25/1 Alan Davies
33/1 Nigel Harman
33/1 Bill Nighy
33/1 Chris Martin
50/1 Steven Fry
50/1 John Barrowman
66/1 Christopher Eccleston

John Barrowman? Christopher Eccleston? Given that Matt Smith has a 3 year contract, I’m thinking it’s just bookies looking to make a buck, and not reality.

The second rumor I hope is not true is that Johnny Depp is being considered to play The Doctor in a movie. This from Slice of Sci-Fi:

According to SciFi Wire, the original story came from Tor.com and discussed that producer Russell T. Davies left the show last year and moved to America to help bring the Doctor to the big-screen. And while the report has since been removed by Tor and could all just be a rumor, there were other Hollywood sources who said that it was true and that Depp could play our favorite Time Lord as early as 2012.

There’s a lot I don’t like about that idea. I know there are existing Doctor Who movies with Peter Cushing that are not in continuity, so there is a precedent, but to me Doctor Who is a TV show and should stay a TV show. The interconnected episodic nature of the story is part of what draws me in. I also don’t like the idea of an American playing The Doctor. I actually think Depp could do a good job, honestly, but this is a British property with British sensibilities, and it needs to stay that way. Part of it’s charm.

Finally, rumors about what we’ll see next season. These I believe (quoted from Slice of Sci-Fi):

Gallifrey Base confirms that location shooting for the special will begin July 12 and that the episode will be written by Steven Moffat. The special may or may not involve a storyline on the Orient Express and an Egyptian goddess as referenced in a phone call during the closing moments of “The Big Bang.” The line was hastily inserted into the episode at the last minute and may or may not hold a clue about the setting for the special.

What we do know is that the Silence will be mentioned and that the mysterious voice heard in the TARDIS during “The Pandorica Opens” will be back. There are also reports that the special could follow the tradition of “A Christmas Carol” and have ghosts of the Doctor’s past coming back. And yes, that means we could get a former Doctor back on-screen for the special as a ghost of Christmas past. Reports indicate that the series has put out feelers to Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, and David Tennant for the cameo.

As for series six, we will see Rory settle into a role as a regular companion and Amy has a “big secret” that she is keeping from both Rory and the Doctor.

And, of course, River Song will be back. It’s reported that her next appearance will be the first time she meets the Doctor.

Lots to like there. Not sure about that multiple Doctors thing, though. That’s been a rumor every year in one form or another. Looking forward to more on “the Silence” and seeing River’s first time meeting the Doctor, however.

Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern? – Tuesday TubeWatch

Jeff — Tue, 26 May 2009 19:22:49 +0000

I’ve posted before about the Green Lantern movie(s) in the works. No cast has been announced, no real information has come to my attention at all about the live action movie, other than it’s still on the books. However, some fan put together a pretty good trailer for what he’d like to see, using Nathan Fillion as the lead character, Hal Jordan. And you know what… it looks pretty good:

First of all, this took a lot of work to put together, so kudos to the guy that created it. I’m not usually a fan of fan-made trailers for movies, but this one is pretty nice.

Obviously it’s really a collection of clips from various sources, including movies (Superman Returns, the Matrix trilogy, Serenity, Star Trek, etc), TV shows (most notably, Justice League), and video games. But most have been modified with new graphics and lighting effects that fit the Green Lantern look, and it really looks good (usually). You have to forgive the differences in look between the video game clips and the others, but it comes off surprisingly well integrated, in my opinion.

The other thing this trailer does for me is begin to allay my fears that the effects in the actual upcoming movie might look stupid. That still could happen, obviously, but if somebody could make the effects in this trailer themselves, even building on others’ work, the professionals getting paid to put something top-notch out should be able to blow us away.

Another surprise in this for me is that I think Nathan Fillion could actually take the role of Hal Jordan and do it justice. He didn’t occur to me as a possible actor for this role, but in thinking about it, I kind of hope he gets it.

Superman Returns, but not as expected

Jeff — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:17:50 +0000

Warner will follow Marvel model to develop new superhero films : Slice of SciFi

Superman Returns darker

Ever since Superman Returns was released, rumors were flying about the sequel. Would it happen? Would Bryan Singer return to helm it? Would anybody watch it?

Not long ago (May 7th, in fact), we were hearing that Bryan Singer would be getting Superman: The Man of Steel to theaters in 2009 with wall-to-wall action in a sequel to Returns. Personally, I was pretty happy with that news. I really think Singer knows how to pull off a movie that’s both intelligent and action-packed, and respects the source material.

But now we hear that in the wake of the success of The Dark Knight, Warner Bros. will be putting a darker focus on all its superhero properties.

For fans, this means that the sequel to “Superman Returns” won’t be happening. Instead, the studio will look to take a page from this year’s “Incredible Hulk” and reboot the franchise. Part of this is a need to freshen the franchise, but part of this can also be attributed to the fact that “Returns” struggled to make back the investment Warner Brothers put into the movie.

[...]

Mr. Robinov wants his next pack of superhero movies to be bathed in the same brooding tone as “The Dark Knight.” Creatively, he sees exploring the evil side to characters as the key to unlocking some of Warner Bros.’ DC properties. “We’re going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it,” he says. That goes for the company’s Superman franchise as well.

That’s disappointing. While I get treating superhero movies as real world and serious is important in creating believability, forcing a dark tone on everything is, I think, a mistake. It’s completely appropriate for Batman, but Superman’s main character traits are hope and optimism, and a bit of naiveté (at least on the surface). It is possible to go darker with him temporarily – and I think it could be done really well – but I really think it has to be in a sequel to be good. The character has to be developed as an incorruptible, “thank God he’s here” kind of character.

Plus, I gotta imagine this new direction means a significant delay before the Boy Scout graces the screen again. So that annoys me, too.

On a side note, the linked article also mentions the other properties under development: Green Lantern, Flash, Green Arrow, and Wonder Woman. I’m excited about each of them. All could translate very well to the big screen.

TV updates: 24 and Smallville (w/spoilers)

Jeff — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:43:35 +0000

The networks released their schedules for next year this week. No surprise: Smallville and 24 are both reappearing in the schedules. However, there has been surprising news/rumors about both shows…

24

Jack is back, and as an appeasement from the long wait since last season, we get a 2-hour movie on November 23rd:

24 is also scheduled to return full time in January of 2009. (A spoiler is below.) However, to reward fans who have not seen a new episode since May of 2007, there will be a 2-hour special on 11/23. According to Kiefer Sutherland, they are scheduled to start filming in the next few weeks in south Africa.

“Set and shot on location in Africa, Jack Bauer battles an international crisis, while here at home the nation prepares for a new president on inauguration day. Taking place just a few months before the new day dawns, this story will set the stage and raise the stakes for Season Seven.”

Day/Season 7 spoiler: Tony’s back. Wait a minute… is this a sci-fi show now?

Smallville

We already knew that Kristen Kreuk and Michael Rosenbaum were leaving the show as regulars. Apparently, that fact gave Allison Mack, who plays Chloe Sullivan, the guts to try renegotiating, since that would leave her as the only regular (other than Tom Welling) to have been on since the beginning. However, it looks like those negotiations may be going poorly, and Chloe may be on her way out.

So that would leave just Clark, Lois, and Jimmy as the only regulars. Hmm…. seems like we’re really leaving Smallville behind and just going straight to Superman. I don’t know – I really like the show, but I’m really worried that it’s going to suffer greatly without Lex. I’ve heard Lana will become recurring…. and I don’t care. She’s over, as far as I’m concerned. They ran out of good stuff to do with her character a few years ago. She only really had a couple good episodes in the last few seasons. Lex is the one that’s got to come back from time to time, if you ask me. Besides….

SPOILERS FOR SMALLVILLE SEASON 7 FINALE

… what are they going to do, leave him dead under the ice, buried in his attempt to kill Clark? Obviously Clark will be back somehow, and I really hope the season premiere resolves the whole Clark/Lex fight adequately. I kind of feel like the rug was pulled out from under me for this finale, and not in a good way. This show has had some great finales, but this one just seemed a bit anti-climactic to me. We saw almost the entire end of the show in the previews! Where was the big fight? Where was the surprise? Where was the “holy cow! Who’s gonna survive this?” moment? We know Clark’s going to survive so no drama there. Lex is going to survive somehow too (to do otherwise would really be a kick in the face to the fans). Lana healed (whoopie.) and left (Yeah!), though she’s open to come back (eh.). Jimmy and Lois were never in danger. Chloe was the candidate for cliffhanger-ness, but they gave her a totally happy ending. I guess Kara is still floating out there…

…but that leaves me with another question: what was the deal where Kara/Brainiac collapsed at the end of the previous episode after Kara’s “return”. It would have worked if Brainiac were controlling her, but if it’s really Brainiac, what’s with the weak collapse, and then all powerful for the opening of this episode?

Next season’s premiere better pull out all the stops, as I assumed this finale would.

Doctor Who – The return of Gallifrey?

Jeff — Sat, 10 May 2008 04:40:26 +0000

Doctor Who — Theories, Facts, Speculations – Slice of SciFi

Over at Slice Of Scifi, they’ve got a post (linked above) that lays out a lot of evidence gathered throughout the last 3+ seasons of the show, and comes up with this hypothesis:

Overall for the Season we will witness the return, in some form or other, of Gallifrey and learn of how the Time War really ended.

I gotta admit, that’s a real possibility, and the author lays out a decent argument. He even goes so far as to make a guess that we will see pieces of the Time War, and that the current, 10th incarnation of the Doctor has a role to play in it. Not sure I buy that, but I’m also not going to dismiss the idea out of hand. He makes a decent case for his position.

It would be a pretty cool thing to see, and it would make sense for Russell Davies to end his involvement in the show on that kind of a note (Davies is rumored to be leaving at the end of next year’s three specials, and Tennant’s tenure as the Doctor beyond that time is in question as well).

If you go through to read the article, which I recommend, be aware that there are spoilers for just about every episode from the first episode of the first season (of the reborn series) thru the fourth episode of the current season.

Movie news roundup – Sci-Fi and comics lovers, rejoice!

Jeff — Thu, 08 May 2008 02:47:09 +0000

Lots of news and some rumors hitting the net lately… here are the best of the bunch for Sci-Fi and comics lovers:

The next Stargate SG-1 film titled Stargate: Continuum now has a July 29 DVD release date.

Marvel has announced that Iron Man 2 has been confirmed for release in 2010, in addition to a movie about Thor. Also reported: the Avengers and Captain America (with Matthew McConaughey as the lead?) in 2011.

Also announced by Marvel: an Ant Man movie, though the timeline for the film is unknown. (This is where they start to lose me… Ant Man? Seriously? I think they’re stretching to reach a mainstream audience with that one. My guess is his popularity in the Avengers movie will determine if this one really gets made.)

Iron Man, Tony Stark, will make a cameo in The Incredible Hulk.

Superman: Man of Steel will now not be delayed due to the “Justice League of America” film but is geared up for a 2009 release with Brandon Routh back as Superman.

Both Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Dark Knight will run over 140 minutes. In fact, The Dark Knight may run close to three hours.

Speaking of The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan has signed on for a third Batman feature, and Christian Bale has expressed interest as well. Details of plot are even starting to circulate – apparently the film will focus on Two-Face and may introduce Robin, following the plot of the graphic novels “The Long Halloween” and “Dark Victory” for a rough outline.

Jack’s dead – again – but he’ll probably be back

Jeff — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 05:02:49 +0000

“24″ Casulty of Writer’s Strike – Slice of SciFi

Due to the Writer’s strike, many shows are considering their options. Apparently “24″ decided to throw in the towel on this year.

The seventh season of the hit real-time series was scheduled to begin in January, but producers had completed only about one-third of its 24-episode order as of last week.

I actually think that’s a good move, given the way this show works. If you can’t do a full season on this one, you just gotta pull it.

I guess it really sucks for Keifer. He accepted an overall longer jail time than he would have received otherwise for his drunk driving conviction, with the condition that the time be split so he could do the show, and thus not cost the cast and crew their jobs for his stupidity. Now there is no show to save. Don’t get me wrong… he’s getting no pity from me. I actually kind of like the irony.

[tags]wga strike, 24, Keifer Sutherland, Fox TV[/tags]

A not-so-Genius move

Jeff — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 22:45:09 +0000

Kilmer plans Genius return – Movie news – Movies – Virgin.net

Okay, Real Genius was a pretty funny Val Kilmer movie. For the 80′s. Making a sequel 20 years later… not so bright.

This does, however, give me the chance to post everyone’s favorite quote from the original:

Mitch: You know, um, something strange happened to me this morning…
Chris Knight: Was it a dream where you see yourself standing in sort of sun-god robes on a pyramid with a thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at you?
Mitch: No…
Chris Knight: Why am I the only one who has that dream?

[tags]movie sequels, movie rumors, Val Kilmer[/tags]

Halo 3 trailer

Jeff — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 04:11:25 +0000

Bungie.net : Games : Halo 3

Oh, man. Go check out the trailer. Seriously.

I want to play this thing, and I haven’t even played Halo 2 yet. It makes me think the movie might actually be good. That’s assuming it ever comes out. There’ve been a few delays. Latest release date is 2008.