Nerd News: Broship of the Rings, Football Cops, Johnny Depps and more

Vol. 2, Issue 26

Have you seen the Broship of the Rings? Ah-mazing.

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You guys. The Nazgul is riding a fixie.

In movie news:

• Here's a first look at The Hunger Games' District 12.
• Daniel Craig (who secretly married Rachel Weisz recently, didja hear?) wants Kings of Leon for the next James Bond theme.
• Matthew Vaughn (director of X-Men: First Class) will be directing another Mark Millar comic adaptation.
• Is Will Smith being too much a diva for Men in Black III?
• Speaking of, Mr. Smith is looking to Emma Thompson (yes, that Emma Thompson) to write an adaptation of Annie for Ms. Whip My Hair Back And Forth herself, Willow Smith.
• Julia Ormond might be joining Man of Steel as Mrs. Jor-El. And, who is Christopher Meloni (Law and Order: SVU) playing?
• James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender might join up again for a new Danny Boyle film. (And fangirls everywhere rejoice!)
• A Wargames remake is in the works.
• Also in the works: A Logan's Run remake with Ryan Gosling.
• Rumors are, Warner Brothers is planning a Green Lantern 2, criticism of the first be damned. (Thanks to Colt for this tidbit.)
• Tom Hanks thinks Toy Story 4 could happen.
• Jeff Bridges in once again looking to adapt The Giver.

Some trailers:

Killer Elite

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Captain America

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The Immortals

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Brave

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Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol

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And aren't these Johnny Depps cute?

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My mom would love this. Almost as much as she loves Johnny.

A couple more art nouveau characters.

Check these, and a lot of other great nouveau characters, on t-shirts here.

Keanu Reeves enjoys Sad Keanu ... enough to write poetry about it.

I enjoy ads with mini-Star Wars humans. (Even when said ads are a tad heavy-handed.)

In TV news:

• Natalie Dormer (Tudors) has joined the cast of Game of Thrones as Margaery Tyrell. And could Nine Christopher Eccleston and Vincent Van Gogh Tony Curran join the cast as well?
• William Shatner has created a documentary in which he interviews all of the Star Trek Captains. This, I need to see.
• Interested in 30 seconds of Wonder Woman footage? Here you go.
• The Office is hiring James Spader.
• News on season 2 of The Walking Dead.
• Martin Short is joining How I Met Your Mother.
• Sometimes my brain fails to make the connection. When I posted a couple of NNs ago that I hoped someone in the US would air the new Neverland adaptation, I'd already heard that SyFy was doing one too. I failed to put two and two together ... but I have now! We'll see Neverland in December.
• Joe Manganiello (True Blood) will join White Collar after the summer midseries finale.

SyFy has officially announced a premiere date for new online series The Mercury Men.

Richard Castle's Derrick Storm is getting the comic treatment.

Eastwood & (Cowboys and) Aliens:

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I ran across a lot of cartoony mashups this week. For starters, here are some more GoT Muppets for you. Fozzy as Tyrion is my favorite of this set.

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Who doesn't love Cars?

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Some My Little Ponies, perhaps?

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Such pretty illustrations.

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This is a really well done and little Wizard of Oz musical cartoon remix ... thing.

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Along similar lines:

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And finally, to round the post out: Football Cops.

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'Nuff said.

Hey you

Forgive me for the short post, but I am absolutely swamped this week with work, life and exciting new projects I hope to share about soon. I am working on finding a balance, but for the moment, I just wanted to share this with you:

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I try to keep this in mind when I'm having an especially bad day. I hope you all will too, because trust me—you are most definitely amazing.

obsessed.: 70s rock

 

Growing up, I listened to a lot of country music, in part because that's what my parents listened to. I never really thought to ask them to change the channel; I liked country music. I do, however, feel like I missed out on some other genres. It's not that my parents don't listen to other styles of music ... I guess country was just the best thing to listen to when I was little.

I started cultivating my own tastes in middle school and tried to move far away from the country scene. I was a huge teenybopper in high school (no regrets!) and in college, I really started to expand my horizons and even realized that not all country was all that bad.

My slow-to-expand musical tastes kept me from truly enjoying classic 70s rock until much later in life than most. But now that I know what I was missing ... let's just say that I listen to the classic rock station here in town more than any other station. (Watching Supernatural has definitely reminded me how great this era was for rock, but I promise you I'm not a fairweather fan.)

Some of my favorite "classics" include:

I didn't include the Beatles in this list because they're a genre all their own.

What kind of music did you "discover" way after the fact? And are you a fan of 70s rock?

A mini-break in Marfa

Let me just say, it was hot camping in West Texas this weekend. But we had a really great time and it was super nice to just get away from everything, for a little while.

Marfa wasn't really what I expected—I'd heard things about it being a hopping artist's community and found it to be kind of a ghost town. Very few stores and restaurants were open and the population of more than 2,000 seemed to be hiding indoors. Many of the people we ran into at our campsite and the two movie showings were actually from Austin. The mysterious Marfa lights didn't show themselves, either.

Regardless, it was definitely a worthwhile and fun trip. We got to spend the weekend with good friends, see a couple of movies in their element, visit a very cool observatory, see an absolutely stunning night sky and (attempt) to shake loose the grasp of city living.

Emily and Wes found a funky campground for us to stay at—El Cosmico.

Although there were yurts, trailers and a teepee to rent, we went the good-old-fashioned tent route. Our tent was the biggest there, and quite spacious for the four of us. It was lovely at night, once the area had cooled off. But we were up and out before 10 every day; otherwise it was just sweltering in there.

We got in Friday afternoon, and once we'd set up our living area, made a trip to the grocery store and eaten, it was time for the first movie, No Country for Old Men, which was showing in a field next to a local motel.

We drove out to the Marfa Lights Observation Station afterward in the hopes of catching glimpses of the famed unexplained phenomenon, but to no avail.

On Saturday, we got up, got showered in the very airy and open bath house, and then went looking for coffee and breakfast. We found the coffee easily enough—at a shop, Frama, attached to a local laundromat—but finding breakfast was a feat. We finally settled on Mando's, one of the only open restaurants in town, and it was very good.

We then went back to main street, and wandered around for a bit. Most of it seems to be owned by a company named Judd, but very few establishments looked open, or even inhabited.

We then headed out to Fort Davis and the McDonald Observatory. I think we were all expecting something far less museum-y, but it was really very impressive. And the views were quite panoramic!

We headed back into town, stopped for dinner at Pizza Foundation, which was super good, and then to the second movie, Giant, which had been set up on the main street in town, outside of the Hotel Paisano. The stars of the movie—Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, etc.—stayed there during filming.

On Sunday, we got up, packed up and took a short jaunt to Prada Marfa before driving back to Austin. It really is in the middle of nowhere.

A big thank you to the Hamptons for inviting us along!

30 Days of Doodles: Days 18—24

Right now, I'm on my way to Marfa, TX, with some friends for a mini-break with movies, camping, mysterious lights and fun! I promise to make an effort to take photos to share.

Since I'm scheduling this post, I haven't yet done a doodle for today. So Day 24 will be included with next week's wrap-up of the project.

Day 18: A place I'd like to visit

Day 19: My greatest wish ...

Day 20: A note to self

Day 21: Something I'd like to change about myself

Day 22: Exotic animals I'd like to own as pets

Day 23: A moment my life changed for the good

A little explanation of this doodle: Exactly eight months ago yesterday, I woke up to get ready for our wedding at around 5 a.m. As the sun rose over Portland, someone noticed that the boys had been busy. I look outside and see this sign, drawn in chalk on the sidewalk, and it finally hits me that I'd be marrying my best friend and love of my life in mere hours. (Original photo) I know—sappy—but totally truthful.

(See the whole set here.)

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

Nerd News: Game of Thrones, The Hobbit, minimalist movie posters and more

Vol. 2, Issue 25

In tv news this week:

• Seth Green is getting a Star Wars sitcom.
• Here are some Torchwood: Miracle Day promo pics for you. Oh, and Russell T. Davies wants to make sure you realize that Captain Jack Harkness is not gay. (He's omnisexual—I'm guessing pretty much everyone in the 51st Century is.) What I want to know, Russel, is why it matters?
• And some news on the Torchwood tie-in motion comic, Web of Lies.
• Glee's getting new writers for it's third season, and there are interesting plot lines afoot.
• Neil Gaiman's episode of Doctor Who could have been much creepier, at least if they'd had the time (an budget) to make Uncle and Nephew properly.
• Lance Bass is working on a boy band reality show. Justin really needs to get off his high horse and give the poor rest of 'N Sync a pity reunion tour.
• George R.R. Martin will be writing an episode of Game of Thrones next season. (I believe Ben also mentioned this during a discussion over the finale ...)
• Conan O'Brien bought himself a role on How I Met Your Mother.
• John Locke Terry O'Quinn is joining the cast of Hawaii Five-0.
• More news on HBO's American Gods.
• Some teaser info for Fringe's fourth season. (via)
• Perennial creepy dude Pruitt Taylor Vince will join the cast of The Walking Dead in season two.
• And, will the Green Lantern cartoon be better for the character/canon than the movie?

The voice over on this video is terrible, but the thought behind it is hilarious.

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Also, the phrase "bromantic comedy"? I so wish I'd thought of it.

Similarly amusing:

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Two new entries onto the long list of t-shirts I need to own:

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In Harry Potter news:

Of course, Warner Bros. released the trailer for HPatDH:P2 mere hours after last week's Nerd News. Even though you've all probably seen it, I'd feel like I was being remiss in my nerdly duties by not posting it here.

Also, Pottermore? It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like. I am in love with the idea of officially learning more about all the characters!

Here's a video of J.K. making the announcement:

These posters are fantastic. (I don't think I'm going to grow out of the minimalist phase any time soon, you guys.)

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And I love these, too. The Superman one was a RIPT shirt the other day that I came really close to buying.

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I think there needs to be an Indiana Jones/Hellboy movie made, stat. It makes so much sense!

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In movie news:

• This is a great list of real women who deserve their own movies.
• There's a new Les Misérables in the works, and Paul Bettany will play Inspector Javert. (I have to admit to you, friends ... I have never seen, heard or read Les Misérables.)
• When I posted that link about there not being a Jurassic Park 4 ... I guess I posted too soon.
• Although Green Lantern isn't shaping up to be as much of success as people might like, there's certainly been talk about more movies in the franchise, and hints at Blake Lively eventually playing Star Sapphire.
• More actors have joined The Hobbit: Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) and Luke Evans, and Evangeline Lilly (Lost) and Barry Humphries.
• Here's a first look at Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins:

• William Shatner will not be in Star Trek 2.
• Guillermo del Toro says no Hellboy 3, but maybe Maleficent?
• James Cameron is already making plans for the Avatar sequels.
• Will there be a Wet Hot American Summer sequel?
• Here's a synopsis of John Carter of Mars.
• How great is this casting? Eddie Izzard, Bob Hoskins and Toby Jones are joining the cast of Snow White and the Huntsman as dwarfs. (via)
• Marvel really feels good about their movies, don't they: A Captain America sequel is already in the works. (via)
• Emma Stone has been offered the role of Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. (via)
• More about Pixar's Brave, including some more character images.
• A trailer for the remake of Footloose was released yesterday. I can't bring myself to post it.

An actual trailer for The Muppets has finally been released.

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I need want a giant poster of this illustration for my nonexistent nerd lair. (Colt-We are totally having a nerd lair when we get a bigger place.)

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I really don't think that Oscar fits the whole Green Lantern aesthetic—and has Elmo ever been mad in his entire existence?—but I get what they were going for.

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Hahaha.

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SCIENCE!

• Thanks to Wes for this great list of fictional scientists, including my faves: Samantha Carter and Rodney McKay of Stargate fame. (I miss good Stargate so much.)
• How does our perception of color change over time?

Do you Star Wars fans (/Twitter users) follow @DeathStarPR? You should. Especially because if you're not, you're missing out on gems like this Open Letter to Time Magazine. A snippet:

NOT ONLY did Darth Vader improve Luke's life immeasurably by giving him the opportunity to become an awesome cyborg, but he then sweetened the deal even further by inviting Luke to join the family business: ruling the galaxy together as father and son. Just in case you missed it, TIME Magazine, that didn't say "run a plumbing company or a small sandwich shop together," it said "RULE THE ENTIRE FRIGGING GALAXY." So Darth Vader, the greatest father in history, wanted to give his son power and wealth beyond measure, EVEN THOUGH HIS SON WAS A BIT OF A WIENER.

Of course, we could also talk about how Darth Vader saved Luke on the second Death Star, sacrificing his own life to throw the Emperor down the reactor shaft. Or how he became a Force ghost so that he could constantly lovingly haunt watch over his children for all time, but we won't because we think you get the point by now TIME Magazine. You do, don't you?

Now let's put the shiny black all-terrain durasteel boot on the other foot. Let's talk about you, TIME Magazine. Darth Vader is NOT a fictional character. He's been in six biographical documentaries about his life. There are photos of him all over the place. He even recently went to Disneyland. How many movies have you been in, TIME Magazine? How many guest appearances at children's parties have you made? Where are all the photos of you? Maybe YOU'RE the fictional character.

I do so enjoy it when a joke keeps going ... and going ... and going ... and then starts all over again.

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These Leia posters remind me of the 80s. (Not a bad thing, mind you.)

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And I just like these a lot. (Not surprising.)

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Also, this:

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The vast amount of Young Charles/Young Eric slash fic/art/love that's going around the Interwebs makes me smile.

I'm so glad Bioware realized that people like FemShep and will be featuring her much more in Mass Effect 3 promotion.

This article on the top 10 bits of pop culture jewelry is quite interesting. In other news, I finally fully understand the Phineas and Ferb episode about the Mary MacGuffin doll.

Another great "10" list: 10 reveals that made stories even more confusing.

Would the Doctor really ride around in a garbage can? Or a pedo-van? I think not.

It's now so easy to imagine Weeping Angels dancing to the Peanuts theme.

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Missing the gang? This Star Trek comic will tide you over until J.J. Abrams is satisfied with his lens flares.

And finally: Oh, Leonard. (Thanks, Wes!)