A lot of people excited about this one.
Going behind the scenes on Red Tails
This past week, the Red Tails facebook page brought up an album of new photos showing the cast and crew on location. Also, they released the clip above of the actors on the set talking about how they’ve bonded on the set.
Last week, two of the stars of Red Tails, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Terrence Howard, were at a screening of the companion documentary, Double Victory to the Congressional Black Caucus and talked about the Tuskegee Airmen, blacks in Hollywood, and George Lucas’ role in the films. Two of the original Tuskegee Airmen also took the stage at the screening, sharing their viewpoint on being heroes. Watch for screenings of Double Victory in select cities around Veterans Day.
Hamill talks Star Wars, the Joker and more
The AV Club has a great interview with Mark Hamill. They cover a lot of ground beyond his two most famous roles, including the upcoming Sushi Girl, Comic Book: The Movie and The Big Red One. But there is, of course, plenty on “the space movies.”
Pottermore making changes, delaying opening
Pottermore finally speaks to what’s going on with the website. As we whined about earlier, the site has been having a hard time dealing with the volume since the last big batch of beta testers was added.
The Pottermore staff says they were surprised by how people have been using the site and that this has contributed to the load problems. They have decided to delay the general public opening until the end of October and, even then, they will bring people on in waves.
And sorry, folks. Dueling is still down for now!
Review: Pottermore needs more… servers
The interactive Harry Potter website Pottermore, announced in June, has finished enrolling its last beta testers.
I somehow lucked out on hitting the site when one of the Magical Quill qualifying rounds opened. This method involved having the hopeful answer a trivia question and then head to another webpage to find the magical quill. Click on it in time and you’re in! Continue reading “Review: Pottermore needs more… servers”
Daniel Radcliffe: Potter created “appetite for reading”
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Like Shatner before him, Daniel Radcliffe also has some words about Star Wars in this clip, but he’s pretty classy about it, focusing on how Potter has inspired kids to read. Here’s the quote:
“I always think that that’s one of the wonderful things about ‘Potter’ and the ‘Potter’ fan base,” he continues. “If you think about the other big costume-wearing [franchises] that go with it, things like ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Star Trek,’ with ‘Potter,’ because it started off as a literary thing, has created a generation of the same kind of mentality … with an appetite for reading and literature, which is kind of amazing.”
Sure, Star Wars and Star Trek have their share of successful tie-ins, but I doubt they’ve gotten as many kids reading as Potter, where books are the cornerstone.
UPDATE: Radcliffe tells Moviefone that the only Star Wars movie he’s seen is The Phantom Menace. Oh, Danrad. Someone is already getting him the Blu-rays. But then:
What ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Potter’ have in common is a huge devoted fan base. Where they differ, I think there is a — and this is my perception, I may be completely wrong — I think there is a slightly more balanced split between the sexes in the fan base of ‘Potter.’ I associate ‘Star Wars’ as being a predominantly male thing. And I think ‘Potter’ is split more evenly.
Sigh.
William Shatner: Star Wars is “derivative” of Trek
Apples and oranges? Pot calling the kettle black? Space western vs. space opera? TV budget vs. film budget? There’s no denying that Star Wars is derivative of many things, but Trek doesn’t even makes the top ten.
Still, you can’t really blame the guy for being partisan to his own franchise. (Or wanting Kirk to run off with Leia
)
EDIT: And speaking of derivative, Heilemann has something of a point about Trek and Forbidden Planet.
Indiana Jones news: Spielberg and Ford at the 30th anniversary of Raiders
While at the 30th anniversary screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Steven Spielberg talked a bit about the early development of Indiana Jones by him and his friend George Lucas, their friendship, about the restoration of Raiders of the Lost Ark (for eventual Blu-ray release), and being hopeful for Indy V.
When Harrison Ford came out, he said he’s up for a fifth time as Indiana Jones, and thinks the key is expanding the audience’s understanding of the character. Also, Harrison Ford in Jurassic Park? Spielberg offered the role of Alan Grant to him.
Rounding out their coverage, the LA Times also did a retrospective on the Raiders of the Lost Ark toys from the 1980s.
EDIT: While Spielberg commented that the newly cleaned up version of Raiders of the Lost Ark that they were screening was going to be eventually used for the Blu-ray and he noted that that Blu-ray release would not have any changes from the 1981 theatrical release, Spielberg later commented that he regrets making changes to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial for its 20th Anniversary DVD, saying, “I realized what I had done was I had robbed people who loved E.T. of their memories of E.T.”
He went on to say that the E.T. Blu-ray would be the original 1982 theatrical version, and not contain the unpopular 2002 revisions, such as digitally replacing police guns with walkie-talkies.
Analysis: The ‘Noooooo’ heard around the world is still a win for Lucasfilm
So last week, it was leaked, and then substantiated that the Blu-ray edition of Return of the Jedi would contain a change that set the fan world into a buzz: As Palpatine zaps Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader would now say “Nooooooooooooo!” as he decides to shaft the Emperor.
Many fans were taken aback by this change by George Lucas – not only does it feed into one of the most laughed-at lines from Revenge of the Sith, it changes the tone of the scene, from Vader as the silent man of action, to him giving voice to his emotional turmoil. Some fans bemoaned the general state of constant changes with each re-release of the movies, while others felt that it is fine for the creator to update his work to help tie the saga all together. Celebrity fan Simon Pegg called it a “clueless revision” – but was it really clueless? Continue reading “Analysis: The ‘Noooooo’ heard around the world is still a win for Lucasfilm”
And the rest: Wonder Woman, BSG: Blood and Chrome, Angel, and Damon Lindelof loves Raiders
Wonder Woman: Erika Peterman demands a Wonder Woman movie on the CNN Geek Out! blog. The co-founder of Girls-Gone-Geek.com addresses different theories as to why we haven’t gotten one yet: lack of a good story? Finding the right costume? Having an action movie led by a female? Casting for the perfect Princess Diana of the Amazons?
Battlestar Galactica: There’s talk that the upcoming BSG prequel series, Blood and Chrome, may end up a web series instead of airing on Syfy. Because they need more airtime for paranormal researching wrestlers. Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome focuses on a young William Adama during the first Cylon war.
Comics: Angel, the vampire with a soul, returns to Dark Horse Comics with this week’s release of Angel & Faith #1. For the past few years, while Dark Horse and Joss Whedon had been busy with Buffy Season Eight, IDW Comics and Joss Whedon had been publishing stories in the Angel franchise, including Angel: After the Fall and several Spike arcs. Now the Buffyverse is re-united back under Dark Horse as Angel and Faith team up to fight evil after the tumultuous events of Season Eight.
Raiders of the Lost Ark:Damon Lindelof (of Lost and 2009’s Star Trek) writes a love letter to the perfect movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and describes when he last peed in his pants.