Deadline Hollywood reveals that Robert Rodat will revise Don Payne’s draft of the Thor 2 script. If Rodat’s name rings a bell, it might be because of his Oscar-nominated script for Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan.
With 2012 arriving today, we take a look back at the highs and lows of television in 2011. Each of our staff members chose a winner and runner-up for each award, which includes standard categories like best drama/comedy and dubious awards such as the show that needs to end the most.
Two of the most talked-about contemporary authors in the world of genre shows, sci-fi, and fantasy were in the news this week, one giving an interview following his defense of free speech on campus (or just Firefly?) and the other teasing his fans with a chapter of his upcoming book.
Renown comic book, sci-fi, and fantasy author Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere, American Gods, Stardust) sat for an interview in which he explained why he threw his support behind James Miller, professor of theater and speech, in the confrontation the latter had with his employer at the University of Wisconsin, Stout. Miller displayed a Firefly poster outside his office with a quote from Mal (Nathan Fillion): “You don’t know me son, so let me explain this to you once: If I ever kill you, you’ll be awake, you’ll be facing me, and you’ll be armed.” This did not sit well with the university and it took some activism and the support of Gaiman and his 1.6 million twitter followers to make free speech prevail. [via: The Huffington Post]
Welcome to Rumor Has It, Player Affinity’s new weekly roundup of highly buzzed-about movie rumors circulating throughout Tinseltown. On this week’s docket, we have rumors about Spike Lee’s Oldboy remake, Brian De Palma’s Passion, and Thor 2.
It is old news that Patty Jenkins is no longer directing Thor 2, but it appears that’s not the end of the story. Production is becoming just as epic as the comic book series itself with reports that Jenkins was fired.
The Writers Guild of America has announced its nominees for the 2012 WGA Awards. On the drama side, the major nominees were the consistently lauded Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire and freshman thriller Homeland. Comedy saw multiple nods go to Modern Family and The Office whilst The Simpsons swept the animation category.
We at Player Affinity had an easy choice for Recommended of the Week this time, the American classic 12 Angry Men. Based on a play 12 Angry Men is a movie that is considered great and the Criterion Collection re-release contents a variety of documentaries, interviews, commentaries and the 1955 television version. The big new release is the J.J. Abrams’ character driven sci-fi hit Super 8, a movie that divided audiences but was massive interest to film fans. From France we have the Holocaust themed historical mystery, Sarah Key’s. Wes Anderson fans will be happy with the re-release of Rushmore and two of D.W. Griffith’s silent film classics have earned a re-release.
News has been breaking about a film based on his novel The Stand, but Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series may have finally found a home for its television adaptation. Producer Brian Grazer has hinted that while the films were having trouble finding a buyer, the planned TV series could wind up on HBO.
With the return of The Walking Dead,
I can’t help but think of which characters from television I would
want to be teamed up with when that inevitable zombie apocalypse
occurs. Rick Grimes and his ragtag band may have made it this far,
but there is definitely room for improvement within those ranks.
Lets face it, the “Walkers” themselves would make better
companions than most of the dregs with which Rick is stuck. So
presented here are TV’s last best hope of survival, and the only
characters I would trust to keep the undead masses at bay.
Parks and Recreation returned
this week with an installment focused on Pawnee’s youth, and why Ron
Swanson hates most of them. “Pawnee Rangers” saw some of the
staff heading out to get in touch with nature, while others were
getting in touch with self-indulgence, and one was just touching his
coworker’s daughter. Definitely one of the best episodes fans have
received this season, the few dry spots were outweighed by some
outrageously funny moments.
With
the opening minutes of “Pawnee Rangers” P&R
showed off it’s skill for using the cold open to both draw laughs and
set up the episode’s storyline. The introduction to the Pawnee
Rangers and Goddesses, who just couldn’t have been run by anyone
except Ron and Leslie respectively, let us know what we were in for
during their annual “Wilderness Weekend.” While Andy – sorry,
Brother Nature – provided some early humor, as did Leslie by
mocking Ron with her southern belle character, Annabelle Vandergraff.
Of course, Amy Poehler’s incredible ability to pull off any role she
takes on is what really sold the moment.
