Forces of Geek: we like pop culture: 6/1/10

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Apatow to Play in Pee-wee's House

News of a new Pee-wee Herman film hit the character's official facebook page this evening, and it included a bit of info hinted at during the man-child's appearance at last week's LA Film Festival -- it will be produced by Judd Apatow.

Of the upcoming collaboration with the uber-producer, Pee-wee stated the following: "I'm so excited to finally be working with The Judds - I've always loved their music. To be honest, I have a crush on Wynonna."

The complete press release is reprinted after the jump!

The first Brenda Starr comic hit newspapers on June 30th, 1940, making today the 70th anniversary of the still running strip.

Hey Kids! Now that you've spent $12 to sit through the emo-filled love story that is volume three of Bella and Edward's "The Untouched" Saga, why don't you prolong your feelings of desire and yearning for a love so deep and true by playing the interactive 8-bit game...

Twilight Eclipse

Feel the gnawing sentiment of slight constipation as you help Bella make the all-important choice, "Do I stay with Edward for eternity or do I go with Jacob and get a flea dip?"

My God! The agony of indecision!

You can play right after the jump.

Here's one of those oddities that starts in the brains of community theater directors everywhere.

You can only imagine the internal dialog..."What if we take Chuck Jones' brilliant cartoon and make a live action version of it? Will that save my failing career and marriage?" says the drunken drama aficionado.

So here it is (after the break), in all of it's magically surreal glory.

Enjoy friends...enjoy.

This is a Margarita...on the rocks

I love booze. Booze makes everything squishy and fun. Sometimes, booze even makes me a better person (albeit one with a low tolerance for social decorum, but I digress). But the one thing I never expected booze to become is a fine piece of wall art that I would be willing to pay good money for...at least not while I was sober.

But then comes along some artistic scientist named Lester Hutt, who is not only an alcohol appreciator but also a chemist who worked for both NASA (looking for life on Mars) and for Apple (part of the creative team behind the iPod) who also thinks that crystallized liquor samples might look good nailed on a wall (instead of being puked on it).

So, he created BevShots, a company where you can buy prints of your favorite alcoholic beverages magnified at 1000 times so that you can see how pretty that drink is before you slam it down your trashed gullet.

It was done in Larry King's style: plainspoken with little fanfare, and without prompting. Larry King announced Tuesday night that he will end Larry King Live this fall.

His announcement comes a few weeks after he celebrated the show's 25th anniversary, which featured a week of shows with guests including President Obama, LeBron James and Lady Gaga.

What's CNN to do?

"And then not expecting it, you become middle-aged and anonymous. No one notices you. You achieve a wonderful freedom." –Doris Lessing

I was recently discussing sequential art with a colleague.

We each compared what it was about the medium of comic books that we liked. Since I only recently (within the last couple of years) dove back into reading current titles, I'm never surprised if someone else my age is ignorant to the current trends, story lines or even familiar with the big names that those of us who read comics regularly take for granted. What I did find surprising is that this friend of mine didn't read any superhero comics. Being as we're both in our thirties, that mere fact alone didn't surprise me as much as his declaration that he had never been a fan of superheroes. "Never?" I asked him. "Never," he answered.

How was this possible? Kids –especially little boys– read comic books. Some like Batman, some like Superman, some like Spiderman, and some like the X-Men, but almost all boys have read and loved at least one comic book. When I pressed him on this issue, he responded that anyone in modern society blessed with extraordinary ability wouldn't or couldn't remain anonymous, and that basic flaw was enough to spoil the entire genre.

You know what the world needs more of? Assholes. And not just any assholes, the kind that spend $19,500 on a phone that will probably be obsolete in a couple of years and then be thrown into a landfill to slowly decay for, oh, say a couple million years.

Yeah, that kind of asshole.

But don't worry, spending that kind of money on a phone will net you a freebie gift. I mean, with that amount of dough being thrown around, surely there will be a perk or two with it right?

Absolutely.

If you act now, you will be the recipient of a fine, handcrafted wallet made from Ostrich feet.

Yes, ostrich feet:

The good folks at Parker Brothers Choppers have a dream, to make you so damn super cool that people will literally foam in their pants just for the chance to make eye contact with you.

And why wouldn't they, as you pull up in your custom Lightcycle all Troned out, looking mighty spiffy and ready to party? It's virtually impossible not to want to rip your clothes off. Hell, I don't even know you and I already want to have your baby.

A "Wonder"-ful Makeover...?

By the time you wake up tomorrow, Wonder Woman will look like this:

The makeover has come courtesy of writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist/DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee, in honor of the Amazon's 600th issue.

In a bit of hubris, Straczynski is touting this as "the first significant change in her appearance since the character debuted in 1941 (not counting the mod look used briefly in the sixties, about which the less said the better.)"

Andy Serkis, who's seemingly become the Lon Chaney of motion-capture, will don yet another skin-tight-suit to star as Caesar in Fox's Rise of the Apes.

File this under WTF...

A Japanese website, bijin-tokei, thinks that it is extremely important that you know what time it is, and what better way to illustrate this need than by using random hot Japanese girls to hold up signs every minute to alert you of this fact via, your mobile phone.

Better yet, why not also list the girl's statistics (including blood type...for bloodletting fetishists apparently) so that you can make the various minutes sexier!

You might not know the name Stuart Gillard, but you most certainly have come across his work.

For almost forty years he has been active in the entertainment industry. As a writer, Gillard worked on such series as Mork & Mindy, Quark, Three's Company, and The Sonny and Cher Show. He has been an actor, producer, and has written and directed several films including Paradise and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.

The majority of his career has been spent as a director for hire, working on such varied projects as 90210, One Tree Hill, Wargames: The Dead Code, Charmed, The Outer Limits, Rocket Man and My Secret Identity.

His SyFy mini-series, Riverworld, based on the work of author Philip Jose Farmer, was recently released on dvd and he took a few minutes to chat with Forces of Geek!

Screenplay by Mark Jacobson
Directed by Taylor Hackford
Starring Helen Mirren, Joe Pesci, Gina Gershon, Taryn Manning,
MC Gainey, Wendell Pierce, Bryan Cranston, Elise Neal,
Scout Compton Taylor, Bai Ling and Sergio Peris-Mencheta

Yesterday it was announced that Jeph Loeb would oversee Marvel properties on the small screen as Executive Vice President, Head of Television.

With the X-Men/Daredevil/Elektra/Fantastic Four Properties at Fox and the Spider-Man/Ghost Rider properties at Sony, that still leaves thousands of characters at Marvel's disposal (and it hasn't quite been revealed yet if Marvel still retains the television rights to the characters licensed to Fox and Sony).

Nevertheless, these are 5 properties that Marvel should start developing immediately...

With Batman: Under the Red Hood ready to hit stores in a little under a month, the DC press machine is already starting to generate buzz for their next direct-to-video animated title, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse.

Today the New York Post is reporting that a "serial stickup artist with a penchant for disguises" has struck at least twice in the Big Apple, wearing a cat mask in one of the attacks.

The unidentified robber, described as 5'6', 115 pounds, and "possibly Middle Eastern," has been linked to two hold-ups at New York City boutiques last week. On Thursday, she hit up the Arche shoe store on Manhattan's Astor Place -- wearing the false feline face, only to become the "Burqa Bandit" the following day at the Body Shop in Forest Hills, Queens.

Yup, that Forest Hills. Home of Peter Parker.

After making cameos in Batman #700 and Superman/Batman Annual #4, the Terry McGinniss Batman, aka TV's Batman Beyond, is being given his own 6 issue miniseries which begins hitting shops tomorrow.

THE ACCUSATION: Over-budget fail

THE DEFENSE: Beloved classic

There's Never a Good Reason for This...Never

Well, we're about a month away from the San Diego Comic-Con 2010 and I know there's bound to be a few of you putting the final touches on your Vampire Hunter D costume (seriously, after all these years, you're still going as D?). And as much as I like you and think everything that you do is awesome, there's a part of me that really wants to protect you from the onslaught of mockery that's bound to come your way, to be forever immortalized on the internet under the "Check out this Douche Bag" banner.

So, for the love of all that is Cosplay, please try to avoid the following costume choices or I will have no other option than to pretend I don't know you if asked:

Nicolas Hayek, always on time

If you were alive and kicking in the 80s than you understand the power of the swatch watch and the influence it had over junior high school students everywhere.

One did not simply wear a Swatch watch, you lined up your entire collection on both arms like badges of honor to prove your societal worth to the people you loathed. It was a multi-colored status symbol that could make you popular and bring adoration or, if you couldn't afford more than one, reminded you that you were lame and should go ahead and kill yourself immediately.

Oh 1984, how I miss you

Several months ago, via the magic of YouTube, worldwide audiences got a sneak peak at an upcoming live-action version of Space Battleship Yamato, which aired in the U.S. as the series Star Blazers, which was one of the first English-translated anime that featured an overall storyline which required the episodes to be aired in order.

Now, a new trailer has arrived and to say it looks amazing is an understatement.

Check it out after the jump!

MEGAN FOX Got Married!

According to TMZ, Megan Fox married longtime beau, Brian Austin "stop calling me David Silver" Green in a small intimate ceremony in Hawaii.

Stump-thumbed geek goddess Fox, who continues to be one of Hollywood's hottest actresses despite limited box office success, met Green several years ago on the set of Hope & Faith.

It has not been revealed if Megan has seen the Notorious B.A.G. do the "Roger Rabbit" as displayed in the clip after the jump.

Judy Greer -- whom TV geeks may best remember as Arrested Development secretary Kitty Sanchez -- has signed on to star in upcoming CBS comedy Mad Love.

Hulu's been a busy free online-TV network lately.

But then it might not be too free for much longer, and with a wider stable of shows to pick from.

Sony is nearing a deal to carry a paid Hulu service on the PlayStation 3, Bloomberg reports. The partnership could be announced this week, according to the report's insider sources.

OK, this is the one spoiler warning you get, True Blood geeks. If you haven't watched yet, don't read any more.

So, um, quite a shocking twist to last night's episode, eh?

You'll get to a see a lot of Steve Carell this summer.

Not only is he lending his voice to the upcoming animated film Despicable Me, but he's also teaming up with Paul Rudd in Dinner for Schmucks for what looks to be his stupidest, goofball-est character since Anchorman's Brick Tamland.

But this fall, you likely will see the last of Carell on TV for a long while.

At long last, Richard Curtis returns to Doctor Who!

What, you don't remember his last work on the show? I must admit, that is fairly understandable.

In brief, Richard Curtis was a producer on "Curse of Fatal Death," the Comic Relief parody short starring Rowan Atkinson and written by...Steven Moffat. Curtis is, of course, the writer of a string of hit romantic comedies including Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill.

The question is, of course, will his bubbly, sometimes mawkish sensibilities fit with the show?

I suppose it's a "yes, but..."

Today Marvel Entertainment announced the creation of a television division and named writer/producer Jeph Loeb the lead man in the department, giving him the title Executive Vice President, Head of Television.

Loeb, in this new position, will be tasked with overseeing the translation of Marvel's properties to television, video and DVD in both live action and animated formats.

What does it take to get a bunch of technologically dependent people to visit a library and check out a damn book?

Well, for the New Zealand Book Council it took creating one of the most incredible paper animations ever to lure in the illiterate feebs and make reading a viable pastime once again (and you thought New Zealand was just home to a bunch of hobbits...for shame).

The Hunger Games is coming to paperback on July 6th!

What is The Hunger Games you ask?

It's the book Stephen King, "couldn't stop reading."

It's the book that help land writer Suzanne Collins to the 2010 TIME 100 list (April 29, 2010)

It's the #1 New York Times Bestseller; A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2008; A School Library Journal Best Book of 2008; A Booklist Editors’ Choice; A New York Times Notable Book of 2008; A Kirkus Best Book of 2008; A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice; USA Today Bestseller; A Publishers Weekly Bestseller and A Horn Book Fanfare.

What's it about?

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capital surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capital is harsh and cruel and keeps the other districts in line by forcing them to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight-to-the death on live TV. One boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and sixteen are selected by lottery to play. The winner brings riches and favor to his or her district. But that is nothing compared to what the Capital wins: one more year of fearful compliance with its rules. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her impoverished district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to death before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. Acclaimed writer Suzanne Collins delivers equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in this stunning novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present.

And we're giving away five copies; Details after the jump!

Confirming rumors that have been circulating the net since March, producer Christopher Meledandri (Horton Hears a Who, Despicable Me) has revealed that he is working on a stop-motion animated adaptation of The Addams Family with Tim Burton "in mind" to direct.

When I was a kid, I would see concert footage on TV of fans going nuts over a particular star.

I never really understood that.

That all changed in 1994 when I tuned to MTV and instantly fell in love. I was 16 years old and granted still experiencing puberty, when I saw Lisa Loeb’s mainstream debut with her Stay (I Missed You) video.

Here was this gorgeous geek goddess dancing around singing about love lost. For a lonely 16 year old boy it was like being struck by lighting.

You Need an App for that Bitches?

After spending virtually all of last week in bed from some horrific infection caused by undercooked chicken, I was left, alone, by my fiance, to fend for myself while he left the state to pick up his new iPhone.

Rather than feeling sorry for myself, I sent mind zapping rays toward his general direction hoping that the phone he left me for would be filled with bugs and general horribleness. Luckily for me, my mojo was strong because the poor guy can barely make a phone call due to the fact that when you hold the phone the signal strength goes down (hahahahahaha!)

Which is why when I discovered this video of a muppet using video conferencing to get their iPhone FaceTime to work, it seemed strangely appropriate.

Surreal but appropriate.

Enjoy.

Full disclosure: I am not a fan of the Mormon Porn saga of Twilight. I just don't get it. Maybe I can't understand the appeal because I'm not a hopeless romantic who is searching for the right man to emotionally abuse me, knock me up with a hell-spawn who wants to chew it's way out of my uterus, and then kill me so that I can spend eternity scrubbing out the shit stains from his underwear.

I guess I'm just a realist.

The red carpet is one thing, but the event itself brought out some Hollywood's favorite geeks.

Don't believe me?

Hello, what have we here?

Billy Dee Williams presenting the Life Career Award to Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner. Kershner sadly couldn't attend and accepted by video.

Last night's "A Date With The Booty Warrior," was the ninth episode of The Boondocks third season, and the second consecutive 'docks to feature homosexuality as its central theme.

With prison rape, or rather the crippling fear of it, weaving itself throughout the episode's storyline, "Booty Warrior" comes quickly on the back of (pun intended) the previous week's "Pause," which all but outed rumored closet-case Tyler Perry, while calling him a hypocrite for espousing Christian values as an excuse to cross dress in his Madea series of plays and movies.

"Booty Warrior" is itself a sequel to a previous season's "A Date With The Health Inspector," in which Tom Du Bois, neighbor of the show's central family -- the Freemans, defines his fear of going to prison more as a paranoia of being forced to have homosexual sex than actual incarceration. Tom, as we learn in "Booty Warrior" though, may actually be a be a latent homosexual.

When one adds these episodes to the multi-season Gangstalicious (a gangster rapper on the down low) arc, a clear, if incomplete, vision of how homosexuality is viewed within the black community takes shape as an over-reaching theme of the hit animated series... and it is disapproving at best.

Geek artist Len Peralta has a goal, to provide the world with a set of 52 trading cards that celebrates all people of high geek-a-tude and accomplishment. A set unlike any other. A set that will make grown men rejoice and women tremble with absolute pleasure...well, maybe not, but they are still righteously cool.

Which is why, it is imperative for everyone to get their pasty-white hands on these babies right now, I mean what else are you doing?

Need some more proof?

Why, there's even a Will Wheaton card!

The 36th Annual Saturn Awards were held on June 24, and for those of you who aren't familiar with the event, it's a geek nirvana.

Held by the Academy of Science Fiction Fantasy & Horror Films, it hosts a myriad of attendees who are icons of genre in front of and behind the camera.

To no one's surprise, Avatar swept the awards; you can see a full list of the winners and nominees HERE.

I've dubbed it the Golden Globe Awards for geeks, complete with lots of liquor and a gift bag chock full of DVDs and toys.

There are few things more satisfying.

Check out who I had the privilege to see in person: