Screenhead

Well…here we go.  Rumors about the next Transformers movie have emerged, and anything short of Michael Bay actually putting a proton cannon in his own mouth and tabbing the firing stud will be something of a disappointment.

But you’ve got to admit, the guy has made thinking big into an art form.  Long term Trans fans may not be wondering, but everyone else might wonder what’s next?  The answer may already have been given away via the Transformers 2 DVD, found on an Easter egg.

Here, let’s have some fun.  Guess the new secret huge feature for Transformers 3!

A. For some reason, QUINTESSONS! Finally!

B. Megatron will finally make the big move to Galvatron.

C. Out of nowhere, UNICRON!!

The answer, of course, is C.  Michael Bay must have some kind of mental disorder in which he must do everything bigger and louder than he did it before, and when he can no longer do bigger and louder, he must move on to something else.

Although I did enjoy Unicron, I’d still personally love to see those fabulously schizophrenic Quintessons get a piece of the action somewhere.  Why, I might even look forward to a Michael Bay movie if that were so!

In what may well be the single most ominous portent at the theaters in quite some time, apparently the only thing standing between us and Blair Witch 3 is Lions Gate.

See, they own the movie rights right now, so it’s their call as to whether or not the project goes anywhere.  But the current word is, that if it does actually go to a movie, that the original cast will be brought back (it’s not like they’re doing anything anyway except maybe Josh Leonard who occasionally shows up in direct to video horror but usually does at least a passable job, credit where credit is due), and they will continue on as if all our fondest dreams had come true and Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows never actually existed.

Sigh…if only…

While I have to admit that the thought of a third (really second) Blair Witch leaves me somewhat cold, I suppose it could possibly be good if done properly, but I don’t imagine it likely.  But the success of Paranormal Activity will likely not be lost on Lions Gate, and a shot at Paranormal Activity cash will be plenty welcome in a down economy.

I’m aware that, chances are, after you read that headline above, you’re probably going to have a minor embolism.

Rest assured that you DID read that correctly, and by all accounts, someone, somewhere,  at Disney has greenlit a sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

You may not, however, be aware that Who Framed Roger Rabbit was actually based on an old conspiracy theory proven terrifyingly accurate about how a coterie of companies came together to take down the Los Angeles streetcar system and replace it with a freeway, which is pretty much what happened in the original.

There are some rumors that say that we’ll have much the same thing in this one, with another conspiracy theory being targeted and analogized to fit into a ninety minute cartoon / live action hybrid film.  Naturally there’s no proof of this as the script hasn’t even been started on yet, but the concept remains, and in all honesty, I’m looking forward to it!

I loved that film when I was a kid, and have fond memories of going along with a group of childhood buddies to catch it.  It was downright amazing.  And I can only hope that a whole new generation of kids will have the same opportunity to laugh at a moron bunny that I did.

What do Tom Cruise, Beck, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Giovanni Ribisi, Katie Holmes, and Paul Haggis all have in common? Why, they’re all members of the cult-I mean religion-called Scientology. That is, until this week when a letter written by Paul Haggis (director of Crash, writer of Million Dollar Baby and Casino Royale) to the “church” of Scientology was revealed.

Apparently, Haggis was infuriated by Scientology’s backing of California’s Proposition 8, which in 2008 made same-sex marriages illegal. Haggis wrote: “The church’s refusal to denounce the actions of these bigots, hypocrites and homophobes is cowardly. I can think of no other word. Silence is consent [...] I refuse to consent”. Haggis also criticised Scientology for putting pressure on Haggis and his wife to “disconnect” their lives from her grandparents’. And so, Haggis has quit.

What’s far more astounding is how on earth people can buy into this ridiculous cult. It was created by a crazy sci-fi writer who wanted to abuse the tax-breaks handed out to religions. How can anyone associate themselves with an organisation who charge people up to thousands of dollars for “personality tests” (haven’t they heard of facebook applications?), deny the existence of autism (which John Travolta’s recently deceased teenage son had), and forbid a woman from screaming during childbirth? Not to mention their hatred for psychiatry, their use of legal waivers forced upon those who join, and their tendency to harass and torment those opposed to or investigating them. It’s a secretive, money-grabbing, dangerous cult. And anyone who disagrees with me need only check out the Simpsons episode called The Joy of Sect, in which Springfield is controlled by a group known as the Movementarians. So well done, Paul Haggis, let’s hope the millions of others see sense and follow suit.

And here we go, folks–time to go the eternal round-de-round of denial and obfuscations and allegations that makes up pretty much every new announcement of any serious quantity.

Today, we’re tackling Lucasfilm’s recent related story that a new Star Wars trilogy was being planned.  And Lucasfilm reacted to this news item with the maturity and levelheaded sense that we’ve come to expect from major studios.

…okay, I couldn’t say that with a straight face. What they REALLY did was push libel like no tomorrow and blamed those darn Internet hoodlums.  Dig the word from Steve Sansweet, Head of Fan Relations at Lucasfilm:

“It wasn’t a news item. It was something that somebody made up. It’s totally totally ignorant and stupid, and even the people who picked it up and spread it along, said there’s no way this can be true. And of course there’s no way it can be true. You shouldn’t believe what you read on the Internet. Take everything with a big grain of salt.”

Yeah, okay…how many times have we heard THAT story before?  And if we shouldn’t believe what we read on the Internet, well, then we shouldn’t believe what ole Steve just spat out, either. He did,  paradoxically, issue his statement online to Movie Geek Feed.

Way to shoot yourself in the foot, jackass.

After hearing the various rumors flying around the Star Trek remake, which was still one of the all time greats as far as the Star Trek series specifically goes, and probably as science fiction in general goes, it was a surprise to catch up to this new chunklet of news.

Apparently, there’s talk that no less than William Shatner will be coming back to the second installment of the remade Star Trek.

J.J. Abrams himself is apparently looking at bringing Shatner on Board, saying that he “would love to work with him (Shatner)”, but the big problem was that “his character died on screen in one of his (Shatner’s) Trek films and we that we wanted to adhere to Trek canon”.  So let that be a lesson to you, kids…Shatner cares more about Shatner than he does established canon.

It’s pretty much shameful how Shatner’s been handling this pretty much since the inception of the Trek remake got started, so frankly, I’d sooner not see him back at all.  But if Abrams can work out a way, I’m willing to work with it.

I think I just about swallowed my own tongue when I heard the baffling and downright shocking news that George “Total Wackjob” Lucas was about to stage a new Star Wars trilogy.

But that was what I spotted mere minutes ago, folks, and it’s downright cringe-inducing.

Be advised, however, that this is GOSSIP.  From an outfit called Market Saw comes the following chunklets of possibility:

1. An actual three-part live-action Star Wars series is possibly coming out.

2. George Lucas will NOT be directing said titles. He will be producing only.

3. All three titles would be released in 3-D.

Well…anything’s possible, I suppose.  Considering the sheer amount of money these movies made, and considering the fact that there’s a whole lot of strangeness that could be happening either between episodes Three and Four or after Six or even before One or even at the same time in another part of the Galaxy Far Far Away, well, we could do just about anything with this.  And with George Lucas just signing checks, they might even be good.

Seriously, after the misery tour that X Files: I Want To Believe was, does anyone really think that there’s going to be a third X Files movie?  Well, David Duchovny sure sounds interested.  What, doesn’t cable pay that well?  Anyway, Duchovny’s on record with the following spectacular brain fart:

“As far as the X-Files movie I’d like to do next, if we get a chance to do it, would be a return to the heart and soul of the mythology, which is the alien-oriented conspiracy. I think it’s natural for The X-Files to have another movie in 2012, so we’ll see if we get to do it.”

This would be about the only way they could, considering the beating that the last one took for having absolutely nothing to do with the alien-oriented conspiracy and having more to do with organ transplants and sleazy cash grabs.

Oh, and just in case anyone thought that Duchovny could actually express an original thought on the second X-Files movie, check THIS out:

“I was happy with it… I have nothing but respect for [X-Files creator] Chris Carter and the writing staff.”

Oh noes!  Run for the hillz!  Cancer Man got Mulder and is making him repeat clearly obvious propaganda about the quality of a pile of crap movie.  Well, that was that minor nervous breakdown averted, so look for a third X-Files movie to probably come out about the same time hell freezes over.

Ultra special treat for you today, folks–I’ve got an interview here with the ORIGINAL chair and founder of Kuzuricon, Joe Wall.  And from what he’s told us, he’s got a LOT to talk about concerning plenty of behind the scenes drama at the recently-launched anime convention.  So settle in for a treat and brace yourselves as we go five questions with Joe Wall.

1. Let’s start off with some background.  Who are you in relation to Kuzuricon?

I am the original chair.  I am also the cons founder.  I started “Project Con” back in July of 08.  I wanted to see a con that wasn’t just about Anime, but about gaming as well.  So I hung fliers and orginized the business.  What I didn’t realize is what kind of power I was giving these people by letting them sign the articles of incorporation.  It was my intent to give them power by policy, but not by law. At this time I don’t do anything for Kuzuricon as they have removed me from my position.

2. What is your actual affiliation to Kuzuricon?  Are you its original founder?

See the previous question, I answered in that, that I am the original founder.

3. Give us some background on the “takeover” you describe throughout your blog.

Well, this group of friends that currently run the con as we speak, were all part of a group called Otakazoo.  I don’t know if that’s in any relation to the fact they drove off anyone that wasn’t in their group, but it does explain why they chose to go with Samantha Nicles artwork instead of another artist’s (I’ll just say Lisa for now).  It appears they kept Cody around, because he does not have an important role in the con.  I can show you some of Lisa’s artwork if you wish to see it.  They basically claimed I was power tripping and playing favortism, which I never was.  They constantly refused to ask me any questions or work with me on anything and constantly acted on their own.

4.  Could you explain the “Kuzuricon Abridged” comic you posted here on your With Dint page’s blog? It’s hilarious but I don’t understand much of the references.

Frame 1:  Basically me introducing myself to the staff of Kuzuricon.  I’m explaining that I’m trying to start a con, even though I know how and what to expect, I don’t have any actual experience doing this.

Frame 2: This is just me announcing to the staff our planned date to have the con. Originally we were going to have it a week before in the Radisson of Kalamazoo. But something happened to where they were no longer contacting us.

Frame 3: This is explaining how things were interfering with me personally with the con.  The staff constantly fighting (Mostly rooted from Samantha Nicles) How I had just taken on a new job in Grand Rapids that was full time and required my full attention (software engineer and on call for Diamond Phoenix).  How even though with this new job, the lack of funding to start things was an issue.  We tried many attempts for sponsorships and other things, but I can only assume I and Cody were the only two people working on that. Hotel troubles, as explained we originally wanted the Radisson, but they wanted WAY to much for use of the hotel.

Frame 4: Basically Sam starting to be pugnacious towards me, and some being, “Why are we doing this” but at the same time supporting her.  This frame probably is mostly my speculation of what she was thinking. Obviously replace, “Flying the plane” with “running the con”.

Frame 5: This frame is pretty self explanatory.

Frame 6: the bar across the door, “Fire the staff” is to show how in attempts to battle their acting on their own. I scheduled two meetings that they chose not make, and because they didn’t, by policy of or con they were fired.  Using their own, “Acting on their own” attitude against them.  But what is not explained is why I did this to fire them.  Well, they were fighting constantly over nothing, not showing any kind of progress towards the con, constantly acting on their own, and one thing samantha was noted for, belittling my position to nothing.  Now to explain, “Belittling my position to nothing.”: I was the con chair.  As con chair our constitution, (That I wrote….) stated, “This individual is usually M.C. and is president of all operations. Oversees all projects, trains staff as needed, and gives suggestions as needed.”  She constantly misquoted this and only used, “Oversees all projects” to make everyone else think that I had a lesser role in the con.  And her definition of “Overseeing” was only that of a security guard… As in she explained it, that I was to watch the staff and report to the e-board of any problems I witness.  This is obviously not what the position entailed and not what I wrote this to mean.  So they were fired, and for about 2 weeks, everything was going good, as me and Rachel noted, more work was accomplished on the con than they did in 6 months.

Frame 7: Everything was going smoothly until I got a call from a lawyer, who I still wonder if he is a legitimate lawyer, calls and states that I need to cease and desist.  And tells me I need to give all my materials involving Kuzuricon to who he claimed was the, “Current staff” which is the staff that was fired.  He claimed that since they all signed the articles of incorporation, they had legal right to the con. Which is true and probably where I shot myself in the foot.

Frame 8: This is me basically looking back at it and reflecting how much I hate mediocrity.  I figured all or nothing. If these are going to be dead weights fire them and try to do it better, or have them fire me (I did threaten to quit on a few occasions because of how poor of a job they were doing.)  But it’s also to show that they have no idea what the hell they are doing, and thus why the con was pretty bad from what I could tell.

Now another rumor that’s going around is I was fired for being a hard ass, well that hardly makes sense, seeming it’s my job as a chair to make sure they’re doing their jobs.  And yet another rumor that’s going around is I was fired for dating Rachel, who was the artist alley coordinator.  And is part of the favoritism crap they were spewing.  I offered to help all of the staff, but they never asked me any questions.  Rachel, Cody, and pretty much anyone on the outside of that collective group of friends, were there few who actually asked me to help them. And I did.  There was Brian on the occasion, but his job wasn’t really that difficult.

5.  Will you be involved in the production of Kuzuricon 2010 in any way?

Maybe, If it even happens, I’d imagine the hotel is pretty angry at them, as well as a few other people.  But I won’t be doing anything unless they specifically want me involved.  I was thinking web admin… Since Brian has this spelling and grammar issue…  but only if I was invited back.  I did attend the con has a, “Bury the hatchet” move.  But I don’t foresee any of them planning to interact with me in the future.

And so, there you have it.  Seems that Kuzuricon was actually a gigantic hotbed of drama.  I’ve actually extended a five-question set to Kuzuricon press rep Melissa Caswell to see if we can get some rebuttal on this.  More on that when–if–it develops.

More news out of Kuzuricon for you today, folks–a panel featuring Todd Haberkorn was laden with data about several upcoming Funimation releases.  Trailers for Blassreiter and D. Greyman were played to wild cheering from the audience, as well as a few audition voice recordings, but where the news shone was in Darker than Black.

Haberkorn actually disseminated a bit of news about the long-running anime series, saying that it was to be “more realistic” and have a “more cinematic quality”, suggesting that they’re gunning for higher detail all around.

This is a double-edged sword as far as news goes–while it means that the final product will be plain old spectacular, it also likely increases the amount of time we’re all going to spend waiting to get our hands on the next installment of Darker Than Black.

At last report, volume six of Darker Than Black was now in stores, but volume seven may take a little longer than expected, especially with the expected upgrade in quality.