Month: August 2009 (Page 17 of 33)

A few things I missed

August 14, 2009 /

* You’ve probably heard it elsewhere by now, but Bryan Singer has been signed to do a “Battlestar Galactica” movie, though of course it’s still very preliminary. I hope it stays that way.

The show will apparently not be related to the recently wrapped, broadly acclaimed TV series, but will be a complete redo of some sort or another and original producer Glen Larson is involved.  That Universal would want to do another reboot on such a recently and brilliantly rebooted property makes absolutely no sense to me at all and shows a real failure of imagination. Moreover, if the idea is to return to something more like the original, I have only one question: Why? One of the things that makes the new series so remarkable is how worthless its original was.

A few years back, I took a fresh look at the first few episodes after dismissing it in my younger geek years and, sorry, the show was three times as bad as I remembered. It was nothing more than a listless knock-off of “Star Wars” with an addition of some surprisingly blatant rightwing agitprop and all the poor characterization and infantile plotting that made seventies television that vast wasteland that it really was back then, with a few exceptions. There is nothing to be nostalgic for here and most modern viewers only know the new show in any case. Bryan Singer’s a smart guy and I just don’t get this.

* Speaking of Singer, his sometime writing partner Christopher McQuarrie (“The Usual Suspects”) has been signed to do the next Wolverine flick.

* In other superhero related news, we are back at the start of it all with some new litigation which returns some of the control of Superman to the estates of his creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster. It may dramatically speed up, or slow down, production of upcoming Superman projects since the ruling goes into effect in 2013 and Warners might want to keep more money for itself by starting sooner rather than later. Regardless, as someone who remembers the “creators’ rights” movement in the comic book world of the late eighties and nineties, I have to think the good guys won here.

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Action Movies, Battlestar Galactica, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movies, News, Sci-Fi Movies

HDTVs with an Internet connection

August 14, 2009 /

HD TV

As I stated earlier, it’s been evident for some time now that a large portion of television audiences are watching their favorite shows on the Internet. In response, a new wave of HDTVs are hitting the market that allows viewers to reach sites such as YouTube and Picasa, but also video-on-demand services from Netflix, Blockbuster, and Amazon.

So new is this feature that some electronics stores aren’t even aware of it yet. (A random check of stores around the country found retailers in New York and Los Angeles to be the least informed.) Yet Internet-enabled HDTVs are expected to quickly add an Internet wave for couch-based channel surfers. Market researcher the Yankee Group predicts 50 million people will have such setsby 2013.

Another 30 million, it says, will have Web-connected Blu Ray players — and 11 million will have purchased media adaptors, giving nearly 100 million people Web video on their TVs without hooking up a PC.

The sets will come pre-installed with targeted applications for specific websites, somewhat like iPhone apps.

The new technology also could add power to an advertiser’s message, with consumers able to click a link and instantly learn more about a product — and with ads being better targeted based on a person’s viewing and browsing history.

And while, like Hulu, no network or production house has signed with a manufacturer to put an app on new TVsets, it may not be long before programmers line up to get their apps included.

When it comes down to it, computers, TVs, and cell phones are quickly melding into the same device. They each continue to serve their primary functions: computers to access the Internet, TVs to watch shows and movies, and cell phones to make calls. Nevertheless, the goal for the manufacturers is to combine their products with multiple forms of media.

People have been able to access the Internet on their TVs in the past, but it was always in a primitive form and never took off. More importantly, streamlined applications weren’t available. Still, it’s interesting to note if this new and integrated content is better than what’s been available. I’ve just gotten used to having DVR on my cable box, and that works flawlessly. However, the idea of pulling up Hulu on my TV screen is enticing. A DVR box can only hold so much content, after all. Hulu contains hundreds of shows on their site. The customer who has HDTV with Internet is then provided with many more options. Pretty cool.

New Media, News

The “Mad Men” cast talks about Season 3

August 14, 2009 /

With two critically revered seasons on the books — and a third kicking off on Sunday — AMC’s “Mad Men” is certifiably one of the hottest shows on the cable TV dial. So if you happened to be at the summer’s TCA press tour, you’d probably do exactly what Bullz-Eye’s Will Harris did — namely, move heaven and earth to get some face time with the members of the cast who showed up for a TCA cocktail party. Of course, none of us are Will Harris, but thanks to the magic of the Internet, we don’t have to be — he’s gone and put the transcripts of his chat with the “Mad Men” cast online for all to see.

Will’s “Mad Men” interviewees were Vincent Kartheiser (Pete Campbell), Christina Hendricks (Joan Holloway), and Jon Hamm (Don Draper) — plus, he’s reached back into the not-so-distant past to include some of the highlights from his recent talk with Rich Sommer (Harry Crane). Though none of the cast members let down their guard enough to let slip any details about the upcoming third season, we can rest assured that plenty of surprises are in store. In the words of Kartheiser:

“This season, season three, I have been blindsided by, like, four or five stories. Like, literally, I have been reading the scripts like, ‘Holy shit! Are you kidding me?'”

Of course, a major component of the show has always been its time period — and as “Mad Men” moves from the early ’60s into the turbulent later years of the decade, it’s reasonable to expect some of that upheaval to make its way onto the screen. Hamm confirmed this, saying:

“Everything changes, and I think that’s a big part of the story we’re trying to tell this season. The culture and the attitudes of the United States at that time are shifting, and these people have to deal with what that shift entails. Not only in their own lives, but in how they deal with their coworkers, how they deal with their workspace, how they deal with their relationships…how they deal with all of that.”

And that’s just scratching the surface of the article. To read the rest of Will Harris’ chat with the “Mad Men” cast, click on the image above or follow this link!

Actors, External TV, Interviews, Mad Men

The strange weekend of five

August 14, 2009 /

This is one interesting movie August we’re in. In fact, if you go to a mutliplex this weekend and can’t find anything that interests you, then you probably don’t belong anywhere near a contemporary movie theater. At this point in film history, things just don’t get that much more diverse, and more interesting, than the new films on offer this weekend.

* Anyone with a geek bone in their body has heard and/or seen a fair amount about the movie box office prognosticators expect to end the reign of “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.” By most accounts a thoughtful yet violent/bloody R-rated science fiction actioner from first-time feature director Neill Blomkamp, “District 9” benefits from a lot of really good buzz, truly outstanding reviews, and a very high-profile variant of a viral campaign; the “humans only” signs have been up at bus-stops in Los Angeles for what seems like years and the film’s association with executive producer Peter Jackson won’t hurt. (Just like the filmgoers who probably still believe that Quentin Tarantino directed “Hostel” and have no clue who Eli Roth is, many casual movie fans will give Jackson the credit/blame on this.)

On the possible downside: there are no stars or recognizable faces and the film’s setting of South Africa might put off some people. We Americans, I fear, can be an obnoxiously xenophobic bunch at times. However, this is a new age we’re in (I think) and certainly this film, about space aliens being oppressed by us literally xenophobic humans, has a much easier to grasp premise than “Serenity,” the last star-free but excitement-heavy, well-reviewed science fiction film to rely on viral marketing, and the virus is far more virulent this time. So, the projections of a take of somewhere in the $20 millions or more for Sony offered both by Variety‘s Pamela McClintock and The Hollywood Reporter‘s ever-jolly Carl DiOrio, who guesses it at at least $25 million, make some sense.

Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams * Unless they’re seeing someone very special and very insistent, the young males who will be flocking to “District 9” likely won’t be seeing this week’s promising box office hopeful, even though it’s also science fiction, though obviously of a very different sort. Warner’s “The Time Traveler’s Wife” is unusual for the movies I write about here in that I’ve actually seen this one before its release date, and you can read all about my opinion of the film over at the link. Suffice it to say that fantastical romantic melodrama is not generating a whole bunch of critical excitement, though that underwhelming 37% RT rating is not so much a collective groan as a chorus of “meh.”

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Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movies, News, Reviews, Sci-Fi Movies, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

Details on banned “Family Guy” episode

August 13, 2009 /

Late last month, it was announced that Fox would not be airing an episode of “Family Guy” dealing with abortion. Instead, it was announced that the episode, entitled “Partial Terms of Endearment,” would only be available on DVD. Always aiming to please, creator Seth MacFarlane hosted a table read of the episode last night in Hollywood to members of the press.

Thanks to The Hollywood Reporter and Paul Cullum for the story. It would have been great to see the cast read the show in its entirety.

After listening to the jokes that produced some restrained laughter from the audience, it’s obvious the episode would have caused an uproar from countless groups involved with abortion. Of course, “Family Guys'” fan base couldn’t care less. Something — though I’m sure there are well-researched studies that have the answer — has happened with today’s younger generation that makes them immune to offensive material. Perhaps it’s the power of the Internet. There’s too much of everything, and that will be the case in America until we’re run by some totalitarian regime. That will never happen, and in the meantime audiences can have their fill of vulgarity on YouTube, Hulu, and countless other websites that supply comedy. It’s all over the place. Jokes, ideas, and issues are all up for grabs on the Internet. For these creators, whether they be aspiring Hollywood writers or a group of junior high school kids with a camera, there’s no line they can’t cross. They can’t “push the envelope” because there’s nobody watching over their shoulders.

If you listen to Seth MacFarlane in interviews, he advocates this form of DIY comedy. If he weren’t as successful as he is, he would be out there posting comedy bits on YouTube. He worked hard enough, reading scripts at the Writers Guild, learning the history of television, and creating his own content. It paid off. Now he works for one the major networks and he isn’t able to get away with everything. Nevertheless, “Family Guy” is the first cartoon in decades to be nominated for “Best Comedy Series” at the Emmys. Controversial and unsavory, his show still has some of the funniest jokes on television.

So, MacFarlane and crew read the script, along with a 16-piece orchestra, mainly to voters from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He admitted this was intended to score more votes and I hope it does. Whereas Fox’s advertisers might have pulled their support if the show aired, members from the Television Academy love to see shows takes risks.

You can watch clips from the reading after the jump.

Humor, News, TV, TV Cartoons, TV Comedies

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