New Around the Net
Ok, I thought the first Guardians of the Galaxy trailer was awesome, but this new one is even better. I cannot wait for this!!
“The only good human…!!” I can’t wait for July 11th!!
I’m also really loving this peek at Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar:
Oy vey, this is what they’ve decided to call the Batman vs. Superman movie? Devin over at badassdigest has it exactly right. (Devin also has some very smart things to say about the state of the Spider-Man film series here.)
For the longest time it seemed like Marvel Studios was doing everything right with their film series, while the Marvel properties at the other studios (like Spider-Man), not to mention Warner Brothers with all their DC Comics properties, were floundering. But the last week has seen quite a lot of alarming news coming out of Marvel. First was word that Drew Goddard was out as show-runner of the Netflix Daredevil show, which was a huge disappointment to me. (I really loved Mr. Goddard’s collaboration with Joss Whedon: The Cabin in the Woods.) Then came the collapse of Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man film. There’s a behind-the-scenes story that none of us know yet, but whatever went down, Edgar Wright has left the film that he’s been planning for literally YEARS. The only reason Marvel is making an Ant-Man movie is because of Mr. Wright’s passion for the character. (Ant-Man isn’t exactly a big name character!) With Edgar Wright (the talented director behind Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim Versus The World, a film that I absolutely adore) directing and Paul Rudd cast in the lead, Ant-Man was a film I was super-excited about. But with Edgar Wright out and word that they have also thrown out the script he co-wrote with Joe Cornish, I don’t know why Marvel is continuing with the film. With the movie’s announced release date just a year away, this looks like a huge train-wreck in the making. Is the golden age of Marvel Studios already over? I hope not, but I am definitely worried.
A new Elmore Leonard adaptation? With an awesome cast? Yes, please:
OK, one more trailer for you, an adaptation of Mark Millar & Dave Gibbons’ comic book series The Secret Service:
I’m not quite sure why the film has been re-titled Kingsman, but whatever. The comic book was awesome and that trailer is promising. I’m loving Colin Firth as the James Bond-esque character. This could be a lot of fun.
This past June 1st marked the 30th anniversary of the release of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Wow. Here’s a wonderful retrospective piece on the film. Props to the author for making note both of Vonda N. McIntyre’s wonderful novelization of the film (that fleshed out the movie’s story tremendously) as well as Mike W. Barr’s extraordinary “Mirror Universe” comic book stories published by DC Comics that took place around the events of the film. I am very nostalgic for that period of Star Trek history. Today, the prospects for future “official” Star Trek movies or TV shows look dim…
Last month also marked the 30th anniversary of the release of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom! Aintitcool.com has run a magnificent series of articles under the title “Fortune and Glory,” looking back at the film. Here’s the complete list of articles, and they are all well-worth your time. Great reads, all of which make a strong case in support of this often-maligned film.
This is a fun article about “One Year Later:” Twelve Time-Jumps That Changed Everything. Ahhh, fond memories of Battlestar Galactica, which used this (now often-imitated) plot device better than any show ever. Beware some spoilers in the article, though. I stopped reading at Breaking Bad — I’m still only in the second season!!
Here’s another great TV show list: Which One-Off Episode of a TV Show Should Be a Whole Series?
I’ve really been enjoying www.avclub.com recently, particularly for their phenomenal Game of Thrones recaps. They’ve also been posting some fun recaps of older shows. I’m particularly enjoying their trip down memory lane, re-visiting Babylon 5.
Years ago I discovered fan-editor Adywan’s reworking of the original Star Wars, and it remains my absolute favorite version of Star Wars. It’s far better than any of Lucasfilm’s professional efforts, from the Special Editions of the late nineties to the disastrous DVD release in the aughts. (I still have not seen the film on blu-ray, holding to my commitment not to spend more money on imperfect versions of the films.) Adywan has been working on a fan-edit of The Empire Strikes Back for years, and I am hugely excited for that seeing the light of day (hopefully some-day soon). Here’s a sneak peek, showing a comparison of his tweaks to the asteroid chase sequence to the official blu-ray. Interesting stuff. You can read more about this project here.
Lastly, here is comic book author Brian Michael Bendis’ TED talk. It’s a great 25-minute summary of how Mr. Bendis got into the business, and some great encouragement to all the writers and artists out there:
See everyone back here soon!