Ron Swanson, the ultra-libertarian boss on Parks and Recreation, is a throwback character and a symbol of masculinity that Dr. Kronner seems to talk about a lot, here and here (I think he may be overcompensating). In the first season of the show, he served in a more limited role but they began to include him more and expand character and his background.
Continue reading Ron Swanson: An Interview and other Swanson News
Not too long ago the Lone Ranger’s plug was pulled by Disney due to budget concerns. And by concerns I mean the film’s $250 million dollar budget. Right now I’m not even wondering whether or not the film will be made, I’m too busy wondering what in the hell could cost 250 mil in a movie about the Lone Ranger. Was there going to be a thousand horses in it? Cowboys and Aliens only had a $163 million budget (Box Office Mojo) and there were effin’ aliens in it and a cowboy with a wrist-blaster!
Apparently these are some of the things that were going to be in the movie via IGN:
THR says the werewolves and supernatural elements that were part of earlier drafts had already been removed from the script by the time Disney yanked the film, but that in its place are some hugely expensive railroad action sequences, set-pieces said to be the biggest train stunts ever planned.
Director Gore Verbinski, who helmed the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films for Disney, is the one the studio deems responsible for bringing down the budget. If he can’t then one option is replacing him with a director who can and/or reconceiving the project on a cheaper scale. Verbinski is said to have only reduced the $250 million budget by $6-8 million; Disney wants the budget at anywhere from $200-220 million, still a steep sum for a western based on a character that’s really only known to older audiences.
I never would have imagined that werewolves and railroad action scenes could cost so much. And I find it very interesting that Disney is placing the budget responsibilities on Gore Verbinski and effectively tying his hands. I mean the guy only brought them a couple billion dollars in from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. You’re welcome Disney!
I’m sure about $50 million would be going to Johnny Depp who would have been playing Tonto, the Lone Ranger’s Native American sidekick. Am I the only one who sees this casting move as borderline retarded? Johnny Depp…. as a Native American named Tonto. Good gravy you suck Disney! Even Jay Silverheels who played Tonto in the 50’s was a Canadian First Nation and he made that shit work! I can see Disney having misgivings about the Lone Ranger since they’ve already got an obscure character coming to the theater in the form of John Carter. And by obscure I mean no one under the age of 27 knows much besides the names of these characters. I think John Carter is more of a for sure thing as a sci-fi movie than the Lone Ranger as a western, so perhaps they’ll try to build off that success. Either way I’m not disappointed at all by the news of it’s possible demise.
What does everyone else think? Would a Lone Ranger movie be any good? Is it still going to happen? The Mask of Zorro was a decent movie based off a masked character from that same era. I just can’t get enthused about it, but I hope there are some pro-Ranger fans out there so let your voice be heard! Or at least some Depp fans….
If you’ve never watched Children’s Hospital during the Adult Swim on Cartoon Network, then you’re missing out but still retain a greater amount of brain cells than me. Children’s Hospital is like Grey’s Anatomy mashed together with…. good God I don’t even know. It pretty much mocks crappy shows like E.R. and Greys Anatomy. Either way it’s hysterical, weird and awkward all at the same time. Will it change your life? No, but it sure makes it funny for about the fifteen minutes each episode runs. So it’s a good thing it’s coming back for a fourth season. Check it out via IGN:
Childrens Hospital is coming back for Season 4. Adult Swim announced today that a new season comprised of 14 episodes will go into production later this year, and will debut in 2012. All the main participants involved in the series are back, including creator/star Rob Corddry and his fellow executive producers Jonathan Stern and David Wain. The press release included some appropriately tongue-in-cheek comments from the EPs…
“I’m very pleased and honored by this announcement,” said Corddry. “I’m also very surprised, given that I write this show when I’m very, very drunk. Season 4 promises to be a cry for help.”
I have no doubt that Rob Corddry really does write Children’s Hospital when he’s drunk. If he wrote it sober the show would be completely unwatchable. You can’t just soberly think up two brothers who are clowns fighting over one of the brothers shooting a porno in the hospital. If you do then you’re completely mental and need help. But you can watch those events unfold on TV without being called mental, plus you can watch it sober and it’s still funny!
I’m a little torn on Daredevil joining up with the New Avengers. Don’t get me wrong, I love the red son-of-a-gun and the idea of the Avengers having as many prominent heroes on their roster as the JLA does, but it seems a bit off.
To me, Daredevil is one of the street level heroes and that is his domain. I don’t see him able to handle foes of the caliber that we’ve been seeing in Fear Itself, in the midst of which he will make his debut. For example: Do you all think the D-man could take out a Nazi Mech? I think it’d be tough but he makes it look like it’s as easy as slipping on your shoes. Many thanks to CBR for the preview pictures!
Despite what I think I’m going to embrace this thing. I’m loving the hell out of the new Daredevil comic out there brought to us by Mark Waid and I think DD is on the right track now after having a rough last decade. Don’t forget Matt Murdock had to go through a public outing of his secret identity, a divorce, prison time and demonic depression. It’s about time the guy has something to fall back on like the protection of the Avengers. Look to see the Man Without Fear avenging against the Serpent in New Avengers #16!
I can’t tell whether I want to see this movie because it looks legitimately good, or if it’s to see if Daniel Radcliffe can have a career after his decade long stint as Harry Potter. I think he can if he just doesn’t wear glasses again. Ever. There’s not an opportunity to really see him acting in this trailer, but he sure does a good job looking horrified….not that it counts for much.
Here’s a short plot description from the Jane Goldman written script:
Young lawyer Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) leaves his son in London to settle the legal affairs of the recently deceased Alice Drablow. He discovers a series of inexplicable accidents and suicides have forced the parents of her village to barricade their children indoors, as if protecting them from an unseen foe. When Arthur stays the night all alone at the Drablow’s foreboding house, he hears the screams of a drowning child and sees decaying children listlessly wandering the marshes. He will soon discover these haunting figures share the same date of death, and the same killer.
Sounds pretty jacked up. But watch the trailer to get a real tingling down your spine:
Yeah, I hate that effin’ monkey with the maracas. He can go to hell. But this movie looks like it’s worth a watch. The movies have been saturated with a plethora of ghost/haunting movies since The Sixth Sense, and the majority have sucked it pretty hard. So let’s find out if the adaptation of Susan Hill’s 1983 novel of the same name is any good come 2012.
I don’t think that anything could possibly redeem the G.I. Joe movie franchise at this point since that crapfest that was the first G.I. Joe, but I’m sure giving the people behind this movie some credit for trying thus far. The cast seems too good to be true… or to be in this movie. Not only is Channing Tatum returning (Puke), but there are some newcomers you may have heard of. The first is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who recently twittered a picture of him as his character in the sequel, Roadblock:
Now I’m not saying the Rock is a great actor but he definitely has the ability to draw people to the box office. His star presence helped push the latest Fast and Furious movie to the brink of box office juggernaut. Also joining up into the ranks is the one and only Bruce Willis as G.I. Joe commander Joe Colton. This one surprised me the most and made me wonder if Willis was going the Samuel L. Jackson route of just appearing in any movie that would pay him. Also joining the film are Walton Goggins (The Shield, Justified), Ray Stevenson (Book of Eli, Punisher: War Zone), and Adrianne Palicki, the hot Wonder Woman who never saw the light of day. That is one decent cast filled with a lot of actors/actresses that I enjoy, minus Channing Tatum of course. Once they manage to get a trailer out I can pass judgement on whether or not I’ll be sucked in by this follow-up to that Stephen Sommers piece of trash.
Grizzly Bomb 