BREAKING NEWS: Walt Disney to Buy Marvel for $4 Billion
Wow. Maybe I’ll finally get that Iron Man vs. Mickey Mouse battle I’ve craved for so long.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090831/ap_on_bi_ge/us_disney_marvel_entertainment
Verbinski Out; Fresnadillo In for Bioshock?
“Bioshock” is one of my favorite games of the current generation of video games. Based on aspects from Ayn Rand’s bestseller “Atlas Shrugged” the dark sci-fi thriller is one of the high water marks of video games and it was an obvious choice to be adapted to the silver screen due to its strong narrative backdrop. “Pirates of the Caribbean” director Gore Verbinski was lined up to bring the film to life but decisions by Universal Studios forced Verbinski to vacate his directorial role leaving the spot open for someone else to take on the adaptation.
So who is in talks to direct “Bioshock”? None other than Academy Award nominated filmmaker, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Right about now you are probably scratching your head asking who Fresnadillo is? Well let me tell you. He is the Oscar nominated director of the short film “Esposados” as well as the feature length director of the Spanish language thriller “Intacto” and the zombie horror sequel “28 Weeks Later”. I can’t speak to the quality of “Intacto” as I have not seen it but based on “28 Weeks Later”, I seriously hope Universal Studios and game developer, Take Two Interactive (which maintains director approval), go in a different direction. Fresnadillo certainly could handle the action of “Bioshock” as the splicers move much like the zombies from “28 Weeks Later” but the narrative direction of that film left a lot to be desired.
I suppose in the end it doesn’t matter because I’ve yet to come across a video game to film adaptation that was actually a good movie in its own right.
Megan Wants a Millionaire Canceled
VH1 “Reality” TV show Megan Wants A Millionaire has just recently been pulled off the air, mere days after Brady’s friend and industry colleague Matt Riviera was booted from the season-long game show. Thanks to podcast contributor Chris for this juice. It is reported that contestant Ryan Alexander Jenkins is suspected of murder and the subject of an international manhunt [source: The Superficial (1), (2)].
I suppose that’w what you get for kicking a wrestler off your show. Your show gets canned. Because another contestant murdered someone.
4×06: Summer’s Last Cries for Action
In this episode—which is not late like the previous episode—Chris, Nick, and Jay go over G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and District 9, and of course go off on tangents, including—and you HAVE to hear this one—exactly how this G.I. Joe film was, “the best Star Wars film since 1983.”
Some of the tangents include Star Trek’s green chick, Goldeneye on the N64, and how Batman can beat God or Jessica Alba’s No Nudity Clase. And other video games. And Vera Farmiga.
In case you cared about seeing Orphan, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, or District 9, see it BEFORE YOU LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE. We tend to ruin the movie for people who haven’t seen it yet.
Follow us on Twitter: Chris, Nick, Jon (thanks for calling in your thoughts to District 9, by the way), and Jay. And of course, About 12 Minutes!
GO SEE NICK’S BAND TONIGHT AT SOME CHURCH IN FAIRLESS HILLS or Levittown I forget which is which. [link]
Awesome Xbox Game – I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1
I am so excited because I got this game called I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1 from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. It’s an indie game, obviously. And it’s like 80 points to buy, which makes it ten times cooler. The song is the best. And my favorite weapon is the flamethrower.
For all of you who don’t have Xbox LIVE, or an Xbox 360, and have no plans to ever get either, then I have conveniently included a video.
It’s about eight minutes long, and is a recording of someone playing the actual game. Enjoy.
4×05: Better Late Than Never
Today, which was supposed to occur about four days ago, Brady and Jay cover a couple entries from the blog, including Brady’s friend (pictured, right) who is on a VH1 TV show. And then there’s the mashed potato bar.
Fantasy Football to a New Extreme
I’ve been doing fantasy football for almost 10 years now. I love it. It makes Sundays in the Fall just more exciting. Recently, my friend Mike asked me to fill a vacancy in his family’s fantasy football league. I agreed, having no idea that they apparently take it even more seriously than I do. Check out this video feed, and tell me. Am I in over my head?
Matt Riviera, VH1’s Megan Wants a Millionaire
For those who have not heard, a good friend of mine – Matt Riviera – is currently 2-1/2 weeks into a stint on VH1’s “Megan Wants a Millionaire,” a reality TV show in which 17 12 bachelors compete for the love and affection of one Megan Hauserman (VH1’s Rock of Love). What’s Bret Michaels’ loss is clearly Matt’s gain! So cheer him on, Sunday nights, 9 PM EST.
From a personal point of view, Matt is a really nice guy, and I wish him nothing but the best of luck. I know he’s an underdog in the competition, but it’s been great to see our friendship grow these last two years. This is a great opportunity for a great guy to get some great publicity. Just great…
And, if you’re interested in learning more, his VH1 cast bio is about 2/3 of the way down. The bio for his site is still coming, as he’s been waiting for me to finish it for him for several months now. (DOH!)
And if you’d like to read the story I wrote about Matt more than two years ago, for the wrestling mag, here it is, in all its glory: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dg5cxqs6_60c5hn9b
(editor’s note: Recent developments have resulted in this show’s removal from VH1’s TV schedule, and now all of VH1’s links point to the official announcement.)
Grosse Point Blank
I loved this movie when I first saw it back in the 90’s. It was this movie, as well as Identity, that made me realize John Cusack is one of my favorite actors.
Plus, Minnie Driver. Hott!!!
Anyway, watching this morning I wanted to share a couple of my favorite lines. Now, mind you, I wasn’t watching it entirely, as I was making breakfast and arguing about the name of our future cat, as well as finding out if I can even afford a kitten. But anyway, my favorite this time around, from Martin Blank, played by John Cusack himself:
You can never go home again, but I guess you can shop there.
And my favorite from the first time I saw it.
Also, when Live & Let Die became muzak inside the Ultimart. What can I say? I’m easily entertained. And now I want to film my own movie.
Help me Name My Cat
So I am adopting a new kitten. He’s a grey striped little ball of fur and I’m looking for exciting names for him. I’m narrowing it down to a few, but I wanted to see what you, the reading public, have to say. Which name do you think is cooler for a kitten?
The Nemesis Enforcer
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Cadmus
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Cotton
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Place your answers in the comments. Poll closes on August 20th.
4×04: Contributions
Since Jay was out of town all week, content was provided via phone calls to About 12 Minutes’ messaging line. Topics include—
- Dramatic Reading: The Life and Art of Bass Playing by Tony Levin [link]
- Review: Watchmen Director’s Cut Blu-Ray DVD
- Urging: Moon [link]
- First Impressions: G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Thanks to Nick, Jon, and Matthew (of Robots and Racecars) for all of this week’s contributions.
