March Grabness
Solar car on Old Middlefield Road
Every month on iFanboy.com, I do a “Grab Bag” article, which is
basically a mishmash of news such about movies, TV
and comics. I do it as kind of homage to Herb Caen
and people seem to like it, so I am going to post
the content of the article on this site as well,
since I am pretty sure many of you who read this
don’t read my weekly column (I don’t blame you--it
can be pretty...specific). It’s funny to go add my
iFanboy writing to this site--the tone is very
different, given the audience and the
material--but it’s a nice way to round out what I
tend to talk about here. Anyway, hope you like it.
Before I start in on that, I wanted to point you to
the web spots page, where I have
posted an edited version of the iFanboy WonderCon show. They
let me get on camera and do some improv and I
wanted to share it with you. I took out the other
parts of the show, but if you have time, do check
out the full version, there are some
great interviews, including a few with the
Watchmen cast, Zach Snyder and
illustrator Dave Gibbons. Forgive the size of the
video ---I will re-encode it and clean up the
transitions as soon as I can. Anyway, it’s new
stuff and new stuff is good.
And now... the March Grab Bag!
* * * *
Hard to believe, but it's already that time of the
month. (You know, I've written that sentence before,
and it still never seems to come out right, but I am
just gonna do it because I am tired of typing it.)
This article is due in about 11 hours, but I have
been on a slight vacation. I say slight because
although I was indeed on vacation, by a pool, reading
comics, in Las Vegas, it was actually very windy and
hailing. So, I've had my margarita (ill-timed, but
one of the drawers that holds all of the pots and
pans---a shelf, really, in cabinet like thing, under
the burners--broke, so I had to fix it) and my
burrito (which was fine and did not need repair) and
even watched an episode of The Simpsons, in
HD no less (when did I stop watching
Simpsons and why did I stop? When did that
happen? I like that show!) and now, I am writing with
Withnail & I playing
in the background (Withnail & I is a
great British movie that you must watch if you
have ever dealt with actors or been drunk, or
dealt with drunk actors, which, well, if you have
ever dealt with actors in the first place
is, in a word, often). I am bit peeved because,
well, I am having aspect ratio issues--everything
is right, everything is apparently correct, but it
just looks off somehow. No matter, it's the grab
bag, and I have stuff to tell you about.
* * * *
"Oh, great, Mike's here? Who invited
him?"
So, at top of mind, my mind at least, which you are
getting a little bit more of than you actually want
right now,is the recent series finale of
Battlestar Galactica. Now, I was fortunate
enough to be invited to the screening of the episode
with the cast and crew on Friday, and I must say, it
was a really, really incredible night. You might as
well read The Hollywood Reporter's account of it
here, but suffice to say, it
was a really inspiring evening. I have been
following the show (writing letters to SciFi.com
to support it going to series, etc) since the
beginning, and I feel very lucky to have been
there for the finale. Yes, I saw and talked to
many of the actors and directors, but that wasn't
really why it was awesome. It was awesome because
everyone came together to say goodbye to what had
been their lives for almost seven years, to say
farewell to a show that really did redefine just
how good television could actually be. Producers
Ron Moore, David Eick and director Michael Rhymer
(who was mentioned specifically as being a key
reason why the show was was so successful from a
creative point of view) all delivered a show that
was pretty much uncompromising in its mission to
tell a great story with believable, engaging and
challenging characters, and I for one will miss
the show greatly. Now, I just have to figure out
how to get on Caprica, which starts
filming in earnest this summer.
* * * *
Imagine a greater name.
Speaking of the SciFi channel, as much as I hate to
say farewell to BSG, I must say I hate the new name
of the network even more. Behold, SyFy. Yes...I think, actually,
that is phonetically "siffy". So...incredibly
lame. According to Tim Brooks, "The name Sci Fi
has been associated with geeks and dysfunctional,
antisocial boys in their basements with video
games and stuff like that, as opposed to the
general public and the female audience in
particular." Let's see...let's just see...what
kinds of things do these "geeks" like? Can you say
Lord of the Rings? Star Wars?
Dark Knight? Spider-Man? I mean,
videogames? It's bad that you
associate the channel with all these things?
Incredible to me. I think Brooks is also being
kind of sexist--like, so, are we to assume that
women don't like the science fiction? Really? I
just...it irritates me and I didn't even
care about this stuff until I found out
they were changing the name. I mean, I liked the
idea that a channel could be devoted to science
fiction...but I guess I'm just some dork who lives
in my mom's basement, right? Ah, well. I should be
careful, I guess--like I said, I really want to be
on Caprica and I probably shouldn't talk
too much trash about the network if I want a job
there. But still--siffy?
* * * *
Spock, Kirk and Bones have just heard about a new
series and are not amused.
Speaking of siffy, er, silly--do we really need a new
Star Trek TV show? No, we don't, but don't
tell that to to Bryan Fuller, creator of the
quite-beautiful-with-some-great-acting-and-quirky-point-of-view-that-many-us-recorded-but-never-got-around-to-you
know, watching-Pushing Daisies. I guess he
wants to make an "old style" Trek. How this would
coexist with J.J. Abrams' upcoming theatrical release, which is
much more modern, with its Apple Store-like bridge
and irritatingly good looking cast, would still
have to be resolved, but, hey--I am all for any
show that casts actual actors. Speaking of
Trek, the writer of the linked article
digs a bit at Deep Space Nine, which is
unfair--that show was actually quite good, and the
last two seasons were all part of an ongoing plot,
which paved the way for episodic shows like
Heroes, Lost and, yes,
Battlestar Galactica, produced by DS9
alum Ron Moore. So don't hate--Netflixagate!
* * * *
Spider-Man 4: Payback's a Bitch, Spidey!
Still with the video and the sound, news of
Spider-Man 4 continues to trickle in, with director
Sam Raimi talking about the apparently Dunst-free aspect of the film
so far. Money quote: "I can't imagine making a
'Spider-Man' movie without Kirsten." He then
insisted, "Of course it can be done..." I, for
one, don't care at all about a new Spider-Man
movie. I am not sure why--oh, that's right, number
three sucked and I don't believe that they can
actually make another good one. Yeah, I guess I am
being cynical, but, I mean...do we really need
another one? The movies make a ton of money, and
if they can make Pirates of the Caribbean
4, then they might as well add a fourth
Spidey flick. But I am not at all convinced you
need Kirsten Dunst. In fact, forget about
her--bring in Black Cat and a brief cameo with the
Fantastic Four and we'll be set.
* * * *
I need me a pair of those shades.
Finally, I guess ABC is remaking V? You know, the one with
the lizards in human skin with the mouse eating
and jaw popping? That's all I remember about the
original, to be honest. That and the jumpsuits. On
the other hand, I guess Fox is making a series based on DC's
Human Target, which I
think actually makes a lot of sense as a TV
series. I liked the books--let's hope they do that
one right.
* * * *
In the "I hinted at it
and it became true" department, I can happily tell
you for certain that dance music duo Daft Punk is
indeed doing the music for Tron 2 (though they are
not calling it Tron 2: Electric
Boogaloo). One more Tron!
* * * *
Remember when I thought I
was being all thoughtful and creative by writing
about what books we should recommend
after our "other" friends asked what they should
read after Watchmen? Well, I've been
seeing lots of DC ads in comic books discussing
exactly that--you can see their recommendations at
afterwatchmen.com. Good job on
that, though I must say they should be running
these ads in Entertainment Weekly and other
actual magazines. I mean, DC is already admitting
that people don't know which comic books to read
after reading Watchmen, so it's pretty certain
that this audience is not reading this month's
Justice League, you know? But good try anyway.
Marvel should have done this with their
movies--it's a great way to get new folks into
comics. Or at least trades. On a related note, GQ
magazine has a whole feature about what comics to
read after Watchmen. Top of the list?
Madman, which should make
Ron happy. The article, written Alex Pappademas
and Kevin Sintumuang, is actually pretty good, and
actually mentions a few books that we talked about
in my article, including All-Star Superman and
Criminal and others I
totally spaced on, like Alias, The Nightly News and
Fell. Nice one, guys!
* * * *
Finally, in the "Last Minute Conor Save" or "Mike
apparently has a crush on Marcos Martin" Department,
I bring you another amazing cover by Mr. Martin, this
time for the upcoming 70th Anniversary of Captain America:
Very, very quickly
Hey there!
Just wanted to let you know that my first article for iFanboy.com is up. I gotta say,
I was really nervous about the whole thing. I
mean, I was really, really flattered to be asked
but honestly, I had no idea what I was going to
talk about, week after week. (I still don't,
really.) But it's a great opportunity and I'll
just continue to write as long as they'll have me.
Of course, now I just have to get my Norton blog
updated...I think I will probably do a series of
entries during WWDC up in San Francisco, which
should be a fun time. I will be twittering any fun
stuff during the Keynote, so swing by a few times
next week to see if I have any cool news from the
show.
Other than that, things are fine. I had a really good
on camera class on Monday; it was nice to get a
chance to rehearse a few times and do a few takes for
the scene, rather than just the one take that we tend
to do in my "normal" class (though that is
tremendously useful, arguably more useful to be
better at that single take, when it comes to getting
an actual job). I had to book out for next week which
is always a bit frustrating, but honestly, there is
just not a lot of work out there right now, at least
for me, I guess.
On the political side, I am super stoked on Obama's
speech last night. I was
listening to his speech last night on the way home
and it was truly inspiring to hear the crowd go
absolutely bonkers. I haven't heard applause and
cheering like that for a politician like that in a
very long time...if ever, to be honest. It's gonna
be fun to watch.
All right--I gotta run.
(ps - I’m using Rapidweaver 4.0 for the site
now, and it’s a really great improvement. There’s
a lot of delay when I type, which is annoying but
that’ll get fixed.)



