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!

This was a point advanced in Cinema Blend that I just about dropped my jaw when reading.  See, I had forgotten that, way back in the long long ago, the brothers Weinstein owned Miramax, but they sold it to Disney back when it was doing a lot better.  Now that Miramax is bleeding cash like a stuck piggy bank, are the Weinsteins plotting to buy the name off Disney’s hands?

There’s no doubt they’d get a bargain for it–with Miramax putting out just a handful of titles a year and generating precious little revenue for Disney, a cash infusion would probably be welcome there.  And if the Weinsteins want it–and it’s been suggested that they definitely DO want it–now would be the prime time to get it back for a song.

Does that mean they’d make it better?  Well, considering that it’s currently been hobbled and is only putting out slim numbers to begin with, chances are the Weinsteins would crank it to full production again, and considering some of the awesome pieces it’s come out with since they sold it to Disney, they might be able to get something good out of it again.

The Prince of Wales stately knights Sir Christopher Lee, who is also known as Star Wars’ Count Dooku and of course – Dracula, received a knighthood for his services to drama and charity. 

Lee is 87-years-old and is easily one of cinema’s most productive actors He appeared in more than 250 films over the course of a career to date has spanned 61 years.

Lee not only has been in Star Wars Prequels, but has started in The Wicker Man and the James Bond film The Man With the Golden Gun.

He will next be seen in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.

(Source)

Sir Dracula…

I’m downright baffled by this, but apparently, if you’re looking to catch Saw VI, which we just reviewed today, in Spain–you’re going to be headed for the red light district.  It’s rated X, you see, and that puts it in the same classification as porn.

I personally remember how shocked I was to hear that, back in the late sixties, a similar fate had happened to the original Night of the Living Dead.  That sucker plays on early-afternoon network television today, so standards have been at least somewhat relaxed.

There’s not much word out of the Spanish government as to why they’re freaking out quite so epically (is “epically” a word?  Well, if it wasn’t already, it is now!), but chances are Lions Gate will take that ball and run with it.  “Forbidden in Spain”…”Some countries just can’t handle the horror”…lots of good taglines there.

But what could possibly make Saw VI that objectionable?  Well…you’ll find out….

You know, I really don’t like the thought of an angry Bill Murray.  It gives me the creeps, to be honest with you.  It’s unnatural.  You think of Bill Murray, you think of one of the greatest funnymen on the face of the earth today.  Thinking of him angry is like thinking of a black sun.  It’s just not RIGHT, you follow?

Anyway, Bill Murray is, apparently, SUBLIMELY torqued at McG.  How do I know?  I”m about to prove it with a couple choice quotes from the man himself.

You may have heard that, once, Bill Murray headbutted McG on the set of Charlie’s Angels.  If you did hear it, you heard it from McG because he’s told that story a few times.  Bill’s response?  Advance warning: it’s not for young eyes:

“That’s bullshit! That’s complete crap! I don’t know why he made that story up. He has a very active imagination.”

Okay, this by itself isn’t terrible…but it’s what Bill had to say after regaining his composure that’s got me freaked out:

“No! He deserves to die. He should be pierced with a lance, not headbutted.”

Whoa.  Bill.  Few deep breaths, huh?  Got to calm DOWN a tick.  You know if McG winds up dead now you’re the first person they’re going to be looking at.  I’m not fond of that jumped up video director either, but you can’t go around slinging the “die” word like that, man.

I really hope you were just joking on that one.

Dana Goodyear wrote an astounding 12-page article for the October 26, 2009 issue of The New Yorker, in which she goes on the set of James Cameron’s Avatar for an early look at the 3-D world that Cameron has created for the upcoming movie.

Goodyear’s article is more than about Avatar. It’s about Cameron and his moviemaking boldness and assertiveness that brings light to an artist’s desire to be the best he can be in film. 

The director of Aliens, Terminator and Terminator 2 and Titanic, he’s also a writer and producer.  “Maverick” best describes the filmmaker — place him next to Walt Disney, Stanley Kubrick or Charlie Chaplin — all visionaries of the future.

Click on Cameron and you’ll be at the article. Enjoy — it’s quite a read!

(Source)

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.

Sad news this morning for retro buffs…if you remember the eighties wrestling era, or even the strange-in-retrospect aspects of the Super Mario Brothers Super Show, you’ll remember Captain Lou Albano.  He passed away yesterday at the age of seventy six.

There was no doubt that this man, who played Mario in the show above, as well as Cyndi Lauper’s dad in the “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” music video, was a staple of the 1980s.  He enjoyed playing the flamboyant rather than the heavy, and was often seen with a wild goatee managed–barely–by a rubber band as well as half-open Hawaiian shirts.  In fact, his seventy-fifth birthday party turned into an insane, drunken melee that ended with a couple of arrests.

Frankly, I hadn’t heard or seen much about Captain Lou for the last decade, but hearing about it now brings back a flood of memories that make today just a little extra poignant for me.  This guy was Mario long before Bob Hoskins tried it in the abortive attempted movie.  I’ve got a clip below for the Super Mario Brothers Super Show (there are horrendously many on YouTube), so let’s play our own Captain Lou Albano out.

Okay, horror buffs–of which I know there are a whole lot of you out there–I got some news here that’ll really put a punch in your morning.  This Sunday, October 11, has been oh-ficially declared World Zombie Day.

Celebrating the walking undead in all their many forms and iterations, events have already been planned at cities all around the globe, and they’ve even fastened a cause on alongside the zombie festivities: ending world hunger.

That’s right, horror fans, you’ve got yet another opportunity to do some good in the world, which is sixteen different kinds of awesome no matter how you slice it.  Hosting cities for this little zombie fracas include Detroit and Flint in Michigan (which BOTH look like they’ve had their share of zombie apocalypsia recently), as well as Jacksonville, Kansas City, London and Worchestor in Great Britain, Shreveport, Westminster, and the grandest zombie mecca known to man, Pittsburgh’s own Monroeville Mall.

If you go to one of the events, bring some nonperishable food items along for admission and such and throw in on the cause.  The world may never know the good that horror buffs do, but we’ll know, and that counts for more than you think.

Yes, I know…some eye rolling cynicism is to be expected here, as this is not the first time you’ve heard about a revived Arrested Development about to make a push on the movie front.  But this new bit of news has something of a new twist to it–a script is reportedly being written by series creator Mitchell Hurwitz and co-executive producer James Valley.

Even better, apparently the last holdout, Michael Cera, has expressed interest in coming back and playing both the role he made famous and the character he’s been playing ever since the show got cancelled–George Michael Bluth.

So there’s reason for at least cautious optimism–all the former cast is on board and the script is in progress–but you should probably take it with the same enormous grain of salt that you’ve been taking all Arrested Development news with for years now.  But hopefully, the news is accurate, and by this time a couple years from now we’ll all get to see them…hm.  Um…rebuild the banana stand?