Episode 162 - Arnold the Podcastinator

On this episode we celebrate the life and career of one of the greatest action movie stars on the planet - Arnold. Enjoy.

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Enter The Sandman

No one ever accused Hollywood of being original, but it appears that studios are jumping on the bandwagon these days before there even is a bandwagon. With Frank Darabont’s adaptation of The Walking Dead getting a second season two months before the first episode even airs, the other networks are clearly jealous of all that horror comic mojo that AMC has got, even if they haven’t really seen it yet. Fox just gave Dreamworks a “season commitment” for a series based on Joe Hill’s horror comic from IDW Locke & Key (see “Fox Picks Up ‘Locke & Key’). Now comes word that Warner Bros. TV is acquiring the rights to Neil Gaiman’s Sandman from sister company DC Comics.

Seasons of the Dead

AMC has gone ahead and ordered a 13-episode second season of The Walking Dead, which is based on the Image Comics series written by Robert Kirkman. The first episode of The Walking Dead doesn’t even air until Halloween, but the buzz coming out of San Diego on the Frank Darabont created TV adaptation of the 12-volume and counting zombie epic is so strong, that AMC has evidently decided to commission scripts for a second season with production of new episodes slated to begin in February, which still gives the network time to pull the plug in the unlikely event that the series is a ratings bomb.

A Season or Two of Who

Showrunner Steven Moffat has revealed that next year’s 13-episode Doctor Who season, the sixth for the show, will actually be two seasons, an “Easter season” and an “autumn season,” according to The Guardian. The mid-season finale will be a “game-changing cliffhanger” according to Moffat, “that will change everything.” The new Doctor Who schedule will offer more opportunities for “event episodes:” the first episodes of both half-seasons, the last episodes of both, and a Christmas special. Neil Gaiman has written a script for the new season.

The Movie Adaptation Race

In response to an online campaign, Marvel Studios has changed its casting call announcement for the character of Nico Minoru in its upcoming production of Runaways. In the original casting call announcement, no mention of Nico’s ethnicity was included—a default setting, which is generally used to designate parts for white actors. In contrast, the casting breakdown for Runaways character Alex Wilder, which was issued at the same time, clearly indicated that the character was African American.

Racebending.com, an online organization founded in the wake of Paramount’s decision to cast a non-Asian as the lead in the big screen adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and members of the Asian American community complained to Marvel Studios about the casting notice for the character of Nico, and Marvel responded with a message to the online site: “To address your concern over casting for the role of Nico, as we do with all of our films, we intend to stay true to the legacy and story of the comic when casting these parts. Thus, our goal is to cast an Asian American actress as depicted in the comic series and the casting notice will be adjusted accordingly.”

Box Office Blues

For the first time all summer a horror film, The Last Exorcism, topped the weekend box office, though the urban heist film Takers was such a close second that the true result will be in doubt until final numbers are released tomorrow. What isn’t in doubt is the fact that it was dismal box office weekend, even for late August with the total of the top 10 films not even making the $90 million mark--the first time all summer that the top ten had failed to total at least $100 million.

Episode 161 - I'll Geek That for a Dollar

We all have out personal geeks, and not all geeks agree on their geeks. On this episode we defend out personal geeks, be it Smallville or Heroes. Enjoy.

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Iron Fist Again

Marvel has put an Iron Fist movie back into development, according to Deadline Hollywood, with Rich Wilkes - who wrote the Vin Diesel flick XXX - assigned to write a script. Iron Fist was in development in the early years of the century, first as a Ray Park vehicle and later just as a movie that was always three years out on Marvel’s list.

TV Locke and Key

The IDW comic property Locke & Key (written by Stephen King progeny Joe Hill) appears to have found a home on TV, with Steven Spielberg executive producing, according to Hollywood Reporter. It was originally set up as a film with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci producing but has now morphed into a TV series.

Win a Date with Reboot Spidey

The casting of the female lead in the Spider-Man reboot is generating almost as much heat as the laborious process that ended when Andrew Garfield was chosen to play the young Peter Parker. Reports from Tinseltown indicate that director Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) and Garfield are meeting with a group of at least five actresses, one of whom will likely end up playing Spidey’s love interest. Only the winner won’t be portraying Mary Jane Watson—according to The Hollywood Reporter, MJ is definitely not the female lead in the new Spider-Man movie, and it might not be Gwen Stacy either—the script pages given to the actresses have no name listed for the character.

Episode 160 - Knives, Big Guns, Action!!!!!

Welcome hot artist and new hideout member Julian Lytle, as we discuss Action Movies, what makes them, the good ones, the bad ones and the ones we like the most. Enjoy

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Episode 159 - Too Old to Hold Up

This topic borrowed from the guys at Too Old to Grow Up we go through some movies and TV and discuss if these shows and films hold up today. Enjoy.

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WTF: X-Force Day

Marvel Comics has designated Wednesday, October 6th as Uncanny X-Force Day in conjunction with the launching of Uncanny X-Force #1 by Rick Remender and Jerome Opena. Marvel is producing a number of commemorative items including an exclusive Uncanny X-Force print featuring the team’s first appearance in the hit series Second Coming. Plus fans will have a chance to add their own heroes Logan’s brand new black ops team by sketching them in on the Uncanny X-Force #1 Blank Variant.

Angel on a Dark Horse

There appears to be a consolidation occurring in the comics quadrant of the Whedonverse. In his column in the back of the Buffy the Vampire: Riley one-shot that was released this week Dark Horse Senior Managing Editor Scott Allie wrote: “What’s next for the Whedon Clan and Dark Horse? How about a Dollhouse comic written by Jed and Maurissa, who wrote the key episode of the show, and the return of the Angel series to Dark Horse in late 2011, in tandem with our Buffy Season 9 re-launch.”

X-men and Vampires did WHAT?

The launch of a new X-Men title, supported by numerous variant incentive covers and strong promotion, topped 140,000 copies in comic stores in July, but it was the only title over 100,000 copies in an otherwise underwhelming month for comic sales. A high 17 titles of the Top 25 sold fewer copies than the previous issues, vs. only four titles that were up.

$200 Million Dollar Battleship for Rhiana

It appears now that Universal is about to roll the dice on a pricy $200 million-plus adaptation of the Hasbro game Battleship. Director Peter Berg has some action movie bona fides thanks to helming the superhero movie Hancock, which earned some $624 million worldwide. But Hancock starred Will Smith, who has demonstrated a lot more box office wattage than Battleship’s lead actor, Taylor Kitsch. Kitsch’s co-star Rihanna has a huge following because of her music, but she has never acted in a major movie before, which raises the stakes another notch.

X-Byrne

The Australian actress Rose Byrne, seen most recently on the big screen in Get Him to the Greek, is in final negotiations to play a key role in Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men reboot, X-Men First Class. Byrne, who also plays Ellen Parsons in the U.S. television series Damages, is up for the role of Moira MacTaggert, an expert on genetic mutation and the love interest of Charles Xavier, who is being played by James McAvoy.