oochies…i think i pulled something while stretching. so the last of the hellboy interviews was posted today on ign. they got to talk to hellboy himself, ron perlman, about hellboy and del toros drive to get perlman as the leading man. perlmans actually been linked with del toro for over a decade…going all the way back to del toro’s first movie, cronos. but hes primarily been a character actor and had never been a leading man, so del toro worked his ass off to get perlman the role. anyhoo, perlman talks about making the movie with del toro, getting into the hellboy prosthetics every morning, and hanging around prague.

btw…for those wanting some in-depth info on hellboy the comic, ugo posted a coo hellboy primer yesterday, covering info on the organizations, characters, creatures, and a history of hellboy. definitely informative, so check it out.

adult swim
ign also has an article today that takes a look at what adult swim has lined-up for this year. holding the event at the knitting factory in nyc, they started with a brief history of the cartoon network in general, explained by mike lazzo (mentioned prior in the wired rave awards)…how ted turner bought all the old hanna-barbera cartoons and launched a network to showcase it. when they wanted to create original programming, turner told them to make do with what they had, and thus space ghost coast-to-coast was born. lazzo then goes on to talk about some of the current and upcoming shows on adult swim, including the family guy and futurama. one of the new shows he mentioned tho was the venture brothers, a sort of parody of the older hardy boys and jonny quest…except dumber. one of the clips they showed went like this…”Brock (one of the characters) beats up a marauding mummy and then urinates on him. “You have to defile a mummy completely or they come back to life,” he ungrammatically explains to the horrified brothers. Lazzo then deadpanned, “It’s also educational.” fucked up yo.

another show lazzo describes was the seth green project (tentative title), which is kind of a stop-motion animation skit show. the brief clip they showed was for ““The Real World: Metropolis,” which sets Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Aquaman, the Hulk and the Falcon (all represented by action figures) living together in the same house and squabbling over such matters as doing the laundry.” ha! fucked up yo.

anyhoo, they continued to go thru some of the other shows on the lineup, then proceeded onto the anime aspect of adult swim. they talked about some of the upcoming anime shows such as the excellent witch-hunter robin (which has already begun airing), wolf’s rain, new inuyasha episodes, case closed, and the new ghost in the shell: stand alone complex. pretty extensive and ambitious.

samurai champloo
while we’re on the topic of anime, i thought id squeeze this in here. i recently came across the new anime project by renowned anime director shinichiro watanabe, samurai champloo. for those unfamiliar with the name watanabe, you might be more familiar with his last anime series, cowboy bebop, or his two anime shorts from the animatrix, “a detective story” and “kids story”. watanabe jumps back a couple centuries to feudal japan for samurai champloo, which centers around the three main characters mugen, fuu, and jin. while i trust watanabe to always kick much ass, i couldnt help but notice how much samurai champloo resembled cowboy bebop…maybe a little too much. not that theres anything wrong with the style of bebop, i just dont want him beating that style to death. *shrug* ill still check it out tho of course…thats a given. the series will be released in japan may 19th. what the heck is a champloo?

> ron perlman interview (via ign)
> hellboy primer (via ugo)
> adult swim 2004 (via ign)
> samurai champloo
> samurai champloo trailer (caution: real media)

[ current selection | abba – dancing queen ]
[ feelin’ | still drizzly ]

ack, who am i kidding? i love abba! so no, i suppose “dancing queen” isnt an aprils fool joke. damn, the motivation to pull pranks has just dissipated over the years. sad really. anyhoo, alot of coo movie news on tap today, and one particularly weird one. first up is a follow-up to yesterdays interview with selma blair. ign filmforce has a coo interview today with guillermo del toro, where he discusses bringing hellboy to the screen, his take on the character of hellboy, and the parallels he saw between hellboy and him. interesting stuff. tomorrows the premiere, and i already have my ticket. woo! and as a sidenote…everytime i see a pic of del toro, he looks more and more like harry knowles of aicn. freaky.

new robin?
a quick article today on ign also mentioned a weird little rumor circulating about warner bros wanting to do another “re-tooling” of one of their characters. there are talks about wanting to reinterpret robin, the boy wonder himself…twisting “him” into a “her”, and making her all funny and hip and whatever blah blah blah. wtf. they apparently want to gear it towards the tweens, and rumor has it that theyre trying to sign on hermione granger herself, emma watson. so not only do they want to shit on catwoman and watch her go down in flames, theyre taking robin with her. idiots.

showest previews
and in a hat-trick, ign also posted a report from showest about various paramount previews they had a chance to view. these included sky captain (rock!), without a paddle with seth green and matthew lillard, suspect zero with carrie-ann moss and ben kingsley, the spongebob squarepants movie with um…spongebob squarepants, sahara with steven zahn and matthew mcconaughey, and interestingly…lemony snicket’s a series of unfortunate events. while im not too familiar with the books, i thought it interesting the cast that they assembled for the movie, which include the likes of jude law, meryl streep, luis guzman, and jim carrey. wow. should be interesting. oh, and one quick note too. near the end of the article, they listed other movies in production, which included amongst them the aeon flux movie. whats interesting is that they mentioned frances mcdormand will be playing aeons sis. hmm…didnt know she had a sis. and an old one too…

spider-man 2 webisodes
whew…ok. this final bit is actually from yesterday. i just didnt find the time to post it. the apple quicktime site has a series of spider-man2 web featurettes (not sure how long theyve been up) which include coo behind-the scene looks at spider-man at comic-con 2003, jonah jameson, and the spider-man costume. they also have a link to the new spider-man 2 trailer, which is similar to the international trailer mentioned in a prior post. doc ock definitely looks pretty coo, and maybe ill actually catch spider-man in the theaters this time around.

> guillermo del toro interview (via ign)
> robin rumors (via ign)
> paramount showest previews (via ign)
> spider-man 2 featurettes (via quicktime)
> spider-man 2 teaser trailer

[ current selection | bjork – bachelorette ]
[ feelin’ | drizzly ]

look at all this movie news piled up…gosh i love reading about movie news. first one up is concerning peter jacksons upcoming king kong remake…and was reported yesterday, but i got lazy. jack black has signed on to play the showman carl denham…which is kinda odd, but coo. its definitely unexpected…but shit, its jack black. he could play spock if he wanted to. another report today on cinescape also mentioned that adrien brody was in talks to take the role of jack driscoll…the pilot who tries to save ann darrow (naomi watts) from king kong. if he signs on, pj would have a pretty coo cast of characters to work with…should be interesting eh.

selma blair interview
next up is an interview on ign with selma blair. again by a jeff otto, and again a very similar interview pops up on aicn by mr. beaks…this time on the same day. ok…i suppose mr. beaks is jeff otto then yo. anyhoo, selma talks about working on hellboy, working with ron perlman and guillermo del toro, and about hellboys prehensile tail. she likey the tail…word. she also talks about her love of neil gaimans work…and especially wanting to play death, going to male strip clubs and getting tea-bagged, and a product called egyptian magic, which is “good for everything from chapped hands to vaginal dryness.” word yo, that is highly quotable.

batmobile
and the last movie bit for now is this baby…official images of the new batmobile was posted on the batman begins website today. its not so much a batmobile as it is a batfuckingtank. the thing looks diesel…like you just want to drive it thru a mine field and eat grenades for breakfast. i actually dont know what to make of it. i suppose i was partial to the slick batmobile of the first batman, but i dont dislike this one. its different. maybe theyll spiffy-fy it on-screen when it starts shooting missles and transforming into some kind of cyclone-esque battle-armor. see now, that would be pretty rock.

> king kong news (via cinescape)
> selma blair interview (via aicn and ign)
> new batmobile

holy dogspanker…an awful preliminary trailer for the upcoming pile of shit catwoman movie was just posted by aicn today. if the prior posts about the stupid costumes werent bad enough, the trailer in general makes the movie look like some cliche-ridden tart-fest. she snaps at dogs like a cat…ok there. and she eats alot of sushi, because you know…cats like fish and shit. wtf. the movie looks to be the definitive kick to the crotch when it gets released. on the bright side, “gigli’s” going to get a nice synonym soon.

in the same aicn post however is an interesting sneak look at the forthcoming international spider-man 2 trailer. the scenes with doc ock and spider-man are pretty coo, and i personally think it looks more interesting than the first one, which i wasnt overly ecstatic about. harry mentioned that there were some grumblings from people who have seen advanced screenings of it. but the movie doesnt premiere til june, so theres still plenty of time for refinements.

oops, quick addendum too. aicn also has two new reviews of the french movie immortel posted up. the first ones tepid, while the second review said it was a letdown…so thats kind of a shame. the movie looked interesting, if a bit abstract. the visuals tho are still pretty coo, so ill still have to watch it eventually.

> catwoman shite preliminary trailer (via aicn)
> preliminary spider-man 2 trailer (via aicn)
> immortel reviews (via aicn)
> past immortel post

[ current selection | byul – 2 ]
[ feelin’ | sunnier ]

two galleries came up today for kill bill v2 and the prisoner of azkaban. ign posted some new promo images from v2, featuring the vipers, the bride, and a few of pai mei (master pai). one of them, the silhouettes against red, looks quite samurai fiction. this shouldnt come as much of a surprise, since similar imagery was utilized in the first volume too…in the “house of blue leaves” scene as the brides fighting the crazy 88’s amidst a blue backdrop. woo hiroyuki nakano!

hpana posted up new images from harry potter as well…large scale ones from the harry potter site, but without the text overlays. theyre pretty coo to look at, especially the close-up of buckbeak. also, in case people were still interested in actually downloading the new trailer for the prisoner of azkaban, killer movies posted direct links to the trailers, as opposed to the primers on the official site.

> kill bill v2 images (via ign)
> azkaban images (via hpana)
> azkaban trailer direct downloads (via killer movies)

[ current selection | flaming lips – bad day ]
[ feelin’ | sunny ]

ok, we’re going to work backwards today. that is to say…even tho the subject title is clearly about harry potter, ill start with other movie news and eventually segue into the potter news so i can put up a swish potter picture. like how my mind works? its like the simpsons “non-related story segue-into-the real story” methodology. go away badger, we dont need you anymore. first up is an interesting “pre-release” of the alien vs. predator website care of ign. the website will be launched shortly, but til then, ign has a special login to preview it. head to the avp website and type in user: avp pw: weyland. okily…coo enough. the sites pretty swishy, and they have info, images, and links to the trailer and behind-the-scenes featurette…so def check it out.

batman begins
cinescape pointed out today that a doormat page has been posted on the batman begins website. its nothing fancy…just the batman emblem mentioned before, but at least its a nice reminder that things are ticking along. cinescape also mentioned that there have been a few additions to the cast of batman begins, specifically rutger hauer (blade runner) and tom wilkinson (eternal sunshine). hauer is set to play earle, a business who plans to take over wayne industries…and wilkinson is to play carmine falcone, a crime overlord of gotham city. they join an already superb cast which includes ken watanabe as ra’s al ghul, michael caine as pennyworth, cillian murphy (28 days later) as the scarecrow, gary oldman as gordon, morgan freeman as lucius fox, and of course christian bale as bruce wayne. shit.

potter yo
ok, so now we get to potter news…woo! the new prisoner of azkaban website is finally up, and its just filled with coo new stuff that do funny things and make little squeels and magic-swish noises. the most notable new addition tho is the new azkaban trailer, which is just gorgeous. it features alot of new material not seen in the first trailer, including more of the knight bus, buckbeak the hippogriff, more dementors (freaky), professor trelawneys coke-bottle glasses, and hermione kicking malfoys ass. holy shit, please just premiere already.

> avp website preview user: avp pw: weyland (via ign)
> batman begins doormat website (via cinescape)
> new batman begins castings (via cinescape)
> prisoner of azkaban website

and if you want to view the trailer in various medias and sizes…
> new prisoner of azkaban trailers (via leaky cauldron)

one extra bit of info for today concerning star wars…this ones for the upcoming episode 3. aicn just received a bit of news regarding the official title for the third and final prequel, and it isnt pretty. rumors had been circulating about what the official title would be, with titles like rise of the empire and revenge of the sith, etc being tossed around. but with lucas’ recent track record, these seemed unlikely because they actually sounded normal and unstupid. so an insider wrote in claiming that lucas actually had been set on using the title rise of the empire, but changed his mind at the last second…and that it will now be titled…….the creeping fear. the creeping fear??? wtf kind of title is that? thats as ominous as the smelling odor, or the gaseous pants. shit i hope this rumors false because that is a seriously crappy name. lucas you fucking idiot.

> star wars eps3: the gesticulating mop (via aicn)

[ current selection | new order – run ]
[ feelin’ | miffed ]

fucking a, i really need to reprogram the damn thumb button on my mouse to not jump back a page. wtf. time to summarize. moriarty over at aicn posted up his reviews for a number of movies today…notable amongst them ones for hellboy and eternal sunshine. he loved both of them, and he talked especially highly of hellboy. he wrote that its a highly polished and well directed movie (woo del toro!) that would appeal to more than just fans of sci-fi and the original comics. another week til the national premiere…poot.

moriarty also snuck in new details that emerged from paramount about the direction theyre taking with the ailing star trek franchise. the good news is that berman and braga (who built up the franchise, then drove it into the ground) are not involved. the bad news is that paramount is proposing a prequel trilogy (to tos) that involves galactic turmoil at the expense of being character-driven. this would be a bit dodgy since the whole star trek series is predicated on the ensemble cast. and while this formula has failed in recent series, the failure had more to do with the writing, direction, and ridiculously boring plots. honestly, the most i can remember from the past two series is alot of holodeck fucking and jolene blalock. and while theres nothing wrong with the latter, a woman in a catsuit cant prop a whole series up by herself. well…not in star trek anyway. hopefully paramount will rethink these ideas and just do a starfleet academy series.

and one last bit of movie news from yesterday. for those who hadnt heard, george lucas was planning to release a box set of the original star wars trilogy in september. not the original versions shown in the 70’s and 80’s, but the special editions released in the 90’s. *shrug*…at least theyre releasing a version. ign posted the official box art for the dvds yesterday, and they look pretty swish. there will be two versions for both the fullscreen and widescreen. one is of luke, leia, etc…and the other depicts darth vaders helmet. the widescreen will have a silver and black color scheme, and the fullscreen will have a gold and black color scheme.

> moriartys reviews w/star trek at the bottom (via aicn)
> star wars trilogy box set art (via ign)

i think ill make this quick…just because im getting a geek-burn on my wrists from typing too much. first, the new logo for the batman begins movie was released. its more industrial than the other batman movie…notably less swishy. dunno what to make of it…its not bad, but it looks kind of like it belongs on the hood of a cadillac. maybe itll grow on me.

next up is an interview on ign with director paul andersen of alien vs. predator. they dork out together on the movie and some set details. it sounds like andersen has an admirable love and respect for the original material…but that doesnt always necessarily translate into a good movie. like i said before, ill give him the benefit of the doubt…and eventually $10 too. bugger.

and last, but definitely not least, someone wrote in some very coo details on the script for the new charlie and the chocolate factory movie helmed by tim burton with johnny depp. the script is more focused on the subtle nuances of the original book, rather than the first movie with gene wilder…of which much of the depth was glossed over. the writer compares it more to paul hogans recent adaption of peter pan, which was infused with more of the originals subtext, rather than the disney-fied variants. the article describes alot of plot details from the script, including willy wonkas entrance, wonkas office, the different kinds of candy (including the classic gobstoppers), and even a brief glimpse at the ending. yay for oompa-loompas…

> new batman logo (via killer movies)
> interview with paul andersen (via ign)
> charlie and the chocolate factory script details (via aicn)