This is… well, it’s not horrible news. Peter Mayhew is in his 70s, he’s playing Chewbacca in The Last Jedi, and probably will in the next one, too. And certainly Joonas Suotamo has been understudying for the role. But it’s still kind of sad to see how time marches on. Suotamo strikes the right note, here:
I'm ecstatic. It's official. And here is my statement to this terrific piece of news https://t.co/a1DPsNDb2P pic.twitter.com/r4EUZ2r17V
— Joonas Suotamo (@JoonasSuotamo) February 21, 2017
And it looks a good deal more coherent, now. It also knows its target audience. Blasting stuff from Led Zeppelin 1 is pretty much a subtle signal to the SCA crowd. You can trust us, it whispers. We know what you like. We know what you need.
I should really consider getting Hulu. They have some interesting stuff. Case in point: JJ Abrams teaming up with Stephen King to do the Castle Rock anthology:
King’s stuff goes up and down in quality, sure. But his early work is easily good enough for Abrams to work with. God knows that somebody competent out there should remake certain King movies…
That’s the only way this works.
The conclusion of a trilogy, mostly set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, Empire’s End contains plenty of rewards for long-term fans. One of these is an interlude set on the planet of Naboo. A refugee boy named Mapo encounters a Gungan performing for kids on the streets, clowning around in a fountain twice a day while being studiously avoided by the grown-ups.
“Meesa Jar Jar,” says the clown when Mapo introduces himself.
Because we all know that Jar Jar was the secret Sith Lord setting the whole thing up, right? Well, Darth Binks has just found himself a new apprentice. Seriously, the chronology will fit.
Filming has begun:
Intrepid creature hunter Burt Gummer and his son Travis find themselves in a remote hotbed of giant man-eating worms in the newest action-packed entry in the wildly popular Tremors franchise. Currently in production in Cape Town, South Africa, this outrageous horror comedy finds the pair at a remote research station where they come under attack by what Burt fears could be weaponized Graboids. Tremors 6 will be released on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD in 2018 from Universal 1440 Entertainment, a production entity of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
This, by the way, is one of the reasons why I want to get the DVD hookup to work in the exercise room: the Tremors series calls to me on DVD, and watching while exercising is the perfect combo. Hmm. And maybe Eight-Legged Freaks, which is a movie that is infinitely better than it has any right to be…
There’s a scene in The Two Towers where a Rohirrim flag pops off of its flagpole just as Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli, and Legolas come riding up to Edoras. It’s one of my favorite scenes in the movie, in fact, because it so concisely evokes the problems Rohan is having at that moment. And it was completely accidental! Peter Jackson simply ran with it, because when the universe gives you a crit like that you take it.
Remember: if it was an accident that rebounds in your favor, you look people right in the eye and say I meant to do that. This is the First Law of the Bard.
Apparently Hacksaw Ridge covered a multitude of sins: “Mel Gibson is mulling joining the DC Extended Universe … as a director. Warner Bros. is courting the actor-director to helm Suicide Squad 2 and the sides are early in talks, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. No official offer has been made nor has any commitment.”
…There’s a comment at that original story (yeah, I know) that’s sheer genius. To paraphrase: if this happens, the ensuing situation is pretty much the premise of Suicide Squad, isn’t it? Guy with undeniable talent, but equally undeniably guilty of doing something awful, will have to work for an arguably even more awful organization and do questionable things, in order to get time off for good behavior. It’s so meta they should have Gibson play himself in the movie.
Moe Lane
PS: I have a beef with what Mel Gibson did, but if he’s repented, then he’s repented.
PPS: I see NerdBastards just put up a link, too.
Interesting: “Niki Caro, who broke through with the 2002 Maori family drama Whale Rider, will direct Disney’s live-action Mulan, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.” …Not that I find it interesting for the same reasons that anybody else will, I’m guessing. It’s interesting because I more or less had to be made to watch Whale Rider, over some protest (I don’t watch many non-genre flicks). After it was over, I turned to my house-mate who had insisted that I sit through it and said (admittedly a bit peevishly and petulantly*), “You could have just told me that she had a telepathic link with the damn whales.”
Which is possibly irrelevant, but still: she did do a good job with Whale Rider. So it might not suck. It had better not suck; Mulan deserves a good adaptation.
Moe Lane
*Because it was a good movie, and I am not yet a Buddha.
I got sent this in email by Constant Reader BigGator5, complete with the accurate (yet sadly unlikely to actually happen) observation that Team Thor should be a full-season show on Netflix. Alas, Chris Hemsworth probably doesn’t have the time. Or anybody else, the money that would make him willing to make time.
Still, it’s legitimately funny that they’re doing stuff like this. I like it when film folks relax a little and goof around for the camera. I mean, that’s why they got into the business, right?
“Terror, Hot” has perhaps too many external references for a 100 word fiction exercise. Although I will go to the wall to express my admiration for Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, which is a movie that I love – and can never watch again. I don’t want the reality of it to sully my nostalgia for it.
