Joss Whedon's space western is coming to HD. by dares
Fox Home Entertainment has confirmed that Joss Whedon's Firefly TV series will be released on Blu-Ray sometime soon.
The rumors started surfacing earlier this week with a video posted on YouTube. The video, taken at Australia's Supernova Pop Culture Expo, has Jewel "Kaylee" Staite anwsering a few fan questions. When was asked about the possibility of a sequel to the Serenity movie, the actress revealed that she had been asked to participate in a Firefly commentary recording session in the spring.
There is still no word on a Serenity release on Blu-Ray. The movie, which is a direct sequel to the Firefly series, had an HD DVD release in 2006 and a Collector's Edition DVD late last year.
I'm really looking forward to seeing Firefly on HD. I desperately needed a reason to continue living.
Will you be picking this up? What kind of special features are you hoping for? Post a comment and let's talk Whedon.
Hills star Lauren Conrad has confirmed that the idea of a Hills movie has been tossed around. by Larry_Chimp_Man
Lauren Conrad has bigger plans for The Hills. The reality-tv star has mentioned in a video-interview with MTV that she thinks a Hills movie could work.
The Hills is a guilty pleasure of mine. The show is ripped straight out of a bad tabloid but I get a kick out of it, no matter how obviously staged it appears to be. The girls aren't the brightest of the bunch and watching them attempt problem solving is always an enjoyable experience. The Hills definitely has its flaws and is by no means a great reality-tv series (are there any?), I just enjoy shutting my brain off every so often and taking it in.
However, I would like to think that a film adaptation of The Hills wouldn't work. First off, reality TV will never be a hit at the cinema and I, for one, would refuse to go watch 90 minutes of The Hills on the big-screen. I go to the theatre as an escape from reality or for an adventure in storytelling, not for four chicks bickering over a wonky curling iron. Second, I don't see The Hills having a big enough fan-base to make an impact at the box-office. There are quite a few fans of the show but not enough to swarm theatres upon release. On the flipside, I'm sure shooting a show like The Hills is dirt cheap and a movie wouldn't require too much funding either.
While I think it's a bad idea I'm sure die-hard Hills fans would love to see a movie adaptation. What do you guys think? Is a Hills movie the way to go? Post a comment and let me know what you think.
Simon Pegg has revealed that a North American DVD release of Spaced will hit this July. by Larry_Chimp_Man
Finally. I've been waiting for Spaced to hit DVD in North America for what seems like ages. The UK discs have been out for years but I, like many fans over here, don't have a region-free player. Thankfully I no longer have to fret. Simon Pegg has revealed that a North American DVD release of Spaced will hit shelves this July.
While Pegg didn't drop too many specifics about what would be found on the discs he did give out some juicy details. There will be quite a few commentary tracks on the disc. Director Edgar Wright has recorded a few along with Pegg. Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino, Diablo Cody, and Matt Stone have also recorded commentary tracks for the DVD.
Pegg also stated that he will be in San Diego for this year's Comic-Con to promote his upcoming films along with the Spaced DVD release. Hopefully I see him there this summer.
I woke up early, well earlier than normal, on Saturday to catch the first two episodes of The Spectacular Spider-Man on the Kids WB. The show, which is being produced by Culver Entertainment, features a young Spidey on a timeline similar to that found in Ultimate Spider-Man. It also happens to be pretty good.
From what was shown in the first two episodes it looks like The Spectacular Spider-Man is going to stick around for the long haul. This is mainly because of aspect; connectivity. There seem to be quite a few subplots running through and fusing together each episode. Even after only an hour of animation I felt as if enough seeds had been planted to feed another three or four future stories. We may have only seen Vulture and Electro in action but Eddie Brock, Kurt Connors, and Dr. Octavius have all been established thus far. The one thing that bothers me the most with a show like this is when each story is self-contained. It looks like that won't be a problem with The Spectacular Spider-Man.
I'm also quite a big fan of the action scenes in the SSM. You really get a sense of movement when Spidey is in action as the camera swings and cuts quite a bit. The feeling is very cinematic and sets itself apart from other Saturday morning cartoons.
If I have one complaint about The Spectacular Spider-Man it's that it can get rather cheesy. Both episodes seemed to have a morale message tacked on that didn't really tie into the story. There's nothing wrong with sending a good message, I just felt that it was situationally unnecessary in both episodes.
Did any of you guys catch the first two episodes of SSM? What did you think? Post a comment and share your thoughts. If you haven't you can check them out on YouTube.
The Spectacular Spider-Man airs Saturdays at 10:00am on The CW.
The British star is displeased in his lack of involvement in the American remake of Spaced.
I love Spaced. It's one of my TV favourites and was the start of my appreciation for Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright. Warner Bros must feel the same was as they have been planning a US version of the show for the past few months. The catch is both Wright and Pegg have not been asked to get involved in the American remake of the series. This annoys me greatly and has obviously gotten under the skin of Simon Pegg as well. The actor has released an official statement about the show, read it below.
SIMON PEGG'S OFFICIAL STATEMENT REGARDING THE US SPACED
Now that the pilot has been officially announced, I thought it might be a good idea to clarify my position on the subject. The whole affair seems to have inspired some spirited debate and some heartening displays of loyalty and love. All this for a show which is almost 10 years old, is all rather wonderful and a vindication of all the blood, sweat and tears (both of joy and pain) we shed in the show’s creation. It was always our aim to create a comedy which spoke to its audience on such a personal level, it almost felt one on one. It would seem the fan reaction to the news that Fox has appropriated the format, confirms at least, that we succeeded.
As far as remaking TV shows for different territories is concerned, I don’t have a problem. The Office remake being a perfect example. Yes, the original British version is a wonderful and compact piece of comedy writing and performance, but I think it’s bit much to expect a large scale American television audience to fully relate to the minutiae of day-to-day business life in an obscure British suburb. I’m sure if you’re reading this, you are the type of person who takes pleasure in the variety of entertainment you enjoy, relishing the differences between our various cultural touchstones but there is a massive audience out there, which perhaps isn’t as culturally savvy (euphemistic phrase for ‘geeky’) as we are and need their signifiers to be a little more familiar. So, Slough is replaced by Scranton, and the office archetypes become a little more archetypal to an American audience. The spirit of the show remains intact. The performances are uniformly great and the show scores big ratings and wins EMMYs, whether we as comedy purists prefer the original or not. The success of the remake is born out by it’s undoubted success and appeal.
My main problem with the notion of a Spaced remake is the sheer lack of respect that Granada/ Wonderland/Warner Bros have displayed in respectively selling out and appropriating our ideas without even letting us know. A decision I can only presume was made as a way of avoiding having to give us any money, whilst at the same time using mine and Edgar’s name in their press release, in order to trade on the success of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, even professing, as Peter Johnson did, to being a big fan of the show and it’s creators. A device made all the more heinous by the fact that the press release neglected to mention the show’s co-creator and female voice, Jessica Hynes (nee Stevenson). The fact is, when we signed our contracts ten years ago, we had neither the experience or the kudos to demand any clauses securing any control over future reversioning. We signed away our rights to any input in the show’s international future, because we just wanted to get the show made and these dark days of legal piracy seemed a far away concern. As a result, we have no rights. The show does not belong to us and, those that do own it have no obligation to include us in any future plans. You would perhaps hope though, out of basic professional respect and courtesy, we might have been consulted. It is this flagrant snub and effective vote of no confidence in the very people that created the show, that has caused such affront at our end. If they don’t care about the integrity of the original, why call it Spaced? Why attempt to find some validation by including mine and Edgar’s names in the press release as if we were involved? Why not just lift the premise? Two strangers, pretend to be a couple in order to secure residence of a flat/apartment. It’s hardly Ibsen. Jess and I specifically jumped off from a very mainstream sitcom premise in order to unravel it so completely. Take it, have it, call it Perfect Strangers and hope Balkie doesn’t sue. Just don’t call it Spaced.
It’s a shame, since the pilot is now a certainty, whether we like it or not, a simple phone call and a few reassurances might have helped to at least curtail the tide of indignation from fans and creators alike. I have, as of yet, heard nothing.
Simon Pegg
This is disappointing. The least Warner Bros could do was bring Pegg and Wright on board as consultants for the show. After all, the original Spaced was entirely their vision. Remaking it without them isn't a smart idea.
The McG produced Spaced will hit TVs later this year. If you haven't seen the original Spaced give that a watch before you check out the American remake.
Lucasfilm Animation has 22 episodes ready and an animated feature to kick things into gear.
It looks as if Star Wars is headed back to the silver screen. It's true, and no, it won't be live action. Instead George Lucas and his crew at Lucasfilm Animation will release a fully computer-animated feature titled Star Wars: The Clone Wars followed by 22 already completed 30-minute episodes.
The show will be labeled an expansion and will follow key concepts introduced during 2003's Cartoon Network show Star Wars: Clone Wars. Set during the three year period known as the Clone Wars it will explore the good side of Anakin's character and Obi-Wan's relationship with the young apprentice.
This should be really sweet. George Lucas has a chance to re-establish the Star Wars Universe in a different medium and take his time with things over the course of the show. The focus should be on fun, great visuals, and great storytelling. Hopefully that's what we get.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars will hit theatres in the summer leading the way for the show to kick off in the autumn. It will air on The Cartoon Network and later hit cable's TNT.
The wall-crawler is back in his Saturday morning time slot.
A few months ago Marvel announced that Spider-Man was once again going to be returning to the animated world under the title The Spectacular Spider-Man. The show, which features an artistic style similar to that of the recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and the Cartoon Network's new Tranformers animated series, will hit The CW in just under a month.
The show looks like it could be awesome. Spider-Man animation needs to get back to where it was in the mid nineties and, while that may be a ambitious goal, I think this new show could do it. The Spectacular Spider-Man is all about Peter getting into the swing of being a superhero. He's young, inexperienced, and has a lot to learn; think Ultimate Spider-Man. Who wouldn't love an animated Ultimate Spider-Man?
The show will supposedly follow a similar timeline to that in the comics but condensed to introduce key characters and plot points at a quicker pace. Hopefully it isn't rushed but still manages to cover enough ground every week. The first episode features the introduction of The Vulture, Peter's first super-villain test in the show.
Hopefully The Spectacular Spider-Man is a success. I've been dying to see a faithful animated Spider-Man on TV for ages and hopefully this can do the trick. Well, at least until Fox and Marvel find a way to bring the 1994 Spider-Man Animated Series out on DVD.
The Spectacular Spider-Man premieres on Saturday, March 8th on Kids' WB! on the CW at 10:00am with two back-to-back 30 minute episodes.
Hoping to bring the Muppets back into the limelight, Disney has decided to develop a mini-series featuring the fuzzy puppets set to spoof reality TV. Shot in a similar style to NBC's The Office, the show will follow the muppets as they set out to create a new show. Rumours have also been circulating stating that, if successful, the show will be a launchpad for new full-time TV series.
This is huge news for me. I've been a fan of the Muppets as far back as I can remember and I'd love to see them start making a comeback. I'd cut off a toe to see Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, and the rest of the gang back in action in a full time TV series. In fact, just thinking about these guys makes me want to pull out all the old Muppet shows I have recorded on VHS in some dusty closet somewhere.
There's no doubt in my mind that the mini-series will be a success. The muppets are known for their banter and their wit and throwing them into a setting similar to The Real World would only amplify that.
If green-lit by Disney, the mini-series will most likely hit the air in the late fall or in early 2008.
Is bringing the Muppets back a good thing or a disaster waiting to happen? Tell me what you guys think.
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