Meet the Governator, and much more fun stuff

Where better to start than with easily the funniest thing I found in my morning reading? I suppose when you're Arnold Schwarzenegger, your life has pretty much been a comic book from the start, so why not make it official?

It seems the former governor of California has teamed up with Stan Lee to turn his nickname, the Governator, into a new comic book and animated series. Yes, really.

Here's what Lee had to say about it to Entertainment Weekly: "The Governator is going to be a great superhero, but he’ll also be Arnold Schwarzenegger. We’re using all the personal elements of Arnold’s life. We’re using his wife [Maria Shriver]. We’re using his kids. We’re using the fact that he used to be governor. Only after he leaves the governor’s office, Arnold decides to become a crime fighter and builds a secret high-tech crime-fighting center under his house in Brentwood."

I really can't see myself buying this, but just to show that I'll probably never get too old to buy an occasional comic book or two, I did pony up the other day for a copy of Kick-Ass 2 #1, which should be coming in the mail any day now.


Am I the only person who looked at that photo above and first thought, "separated at birth"? In the second funniest thing I found this morning, and in something that shouldn't tax his acting skills much at all, it seems that John Travolta will be playing John Gotti Sr. in a new movie called "Gotti: Three Generations," to be directed by Nick Cassavetes.

The movie will focus on the relationship between John Gotti Sr., the head of the Gambino crime family who died in prison in 2002, and his son John Gotti Jr., who took over the family business for his father, served time in prison, but then successfully escaped conviction in four subsequent racketeering trials. But really, I just wanted to post that picture, so that's all I really have to say on the subject.

Moving on, if FX is ever going to have any successful dramas, it could certainly do worse than signing the first family of "Friday Night Lights," my favorite TV drama of the last 10 years or so (yes, better than "Mad Men").

Connie Britton has apparently already signed on for something from "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy to be called "American Horror Story." I have no idea what it's about, but keep an eye out for it on FX's fall schedule.

And now, it seems that FX is courting Coach Taylor too, for a different series called "Powers." Kyle Chandler hasn't signed on yet, but if he does, it would be for something that sounds potentially pretty great.

Based on the graphic novel by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, "Powers" will be a police procedural set in a world where superpowers are relatively common. It centers on two detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, in a homicide department that deals with cases involving "powers." (people with superpowers).

Look for supernatural police forces to appear in some form in at least two other shows coming this fall, because of course no idea these days comes about in a vacuum, but if Chandler signs on for "Powers," you can bet that's the only one I'll be tuning in for when it most likely premieres in early 2012.

OK, to wrap up with the TV segment, at least until we get to the videos, how better to start a Thursday morning than with a photo of Amber Heard in a Playboy bunny suit? I can't think of too many.

She's starring in the fall NBC series "The Playboy Club," which she's described to Comingsoon.net as "a crime drama centered around the Playboy clubs of Chicago in the 1960s." I'm not sure that's enough to get me to tune in for the whole series, but I think I'll at least give the pilot a try this fall. Here's the photo:


OK, now on to the videos, and where better to start than with Jim Henson? This new site is dedicated to his history, and it's well worth a visit. Among the gems you'll find there is this short pilot of sorts he did in 1968 - before either "Sesame Street" or "The Muppet Show"- for a potential TV series based on the Wizard of Id comic strip. Nothing came of it, of course, but the clip is a lot of fun, and you'll certainly recognize the voices. Enjoy.



Can you ever possibly bring together too much funny? I doubt it, but HBO is testing that theory with its upcoming special "Talking Funny," which will rather amazingly make Jerry Seinfeld the least funny guy in the room. Not an insult really, just my personal opinion that Ricky Gervais, Chris Rock and the great Louis C.K. are all funnier than he is. Anyways, the four of them will be getting together for this "casual conversation" that should certainly be a hoot when it airs April 22 at 9 p.m. EST on HBO, and keep an eye out for the second season of C.K.'s rather sublime "Louie" series coming to FX in June. Enjoy the "Talking Funny" trailer.



And finally today, color me jealous of all you folk who get BBC America, which my cable provider charges too much for me pony up for. Coming to the network starting April 23 will be the new season of "Doctor Who," and based both on the very entertaining Christmas special and this latest trailer, it looks like a wildly fun ride. Enjoy the trailer, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Play ball!

Don't blame the messenger: No "Mad Men" this year

Actually, before and after anything that depressing, why not some really good movie news to make it all go down sweeter?

First up, the certifiable funniest man on the planet (Bill Murray if you didn't know) has signed on to play Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a movie based on a real oddity, a radio play written in 2009 by someone named Richard Nelson (bully for still making those.)

"Hyde Park on the Hudson" tells the story of a true-to-life affair Roosevelt had with a distant cousin, and its set during a 1939 visit from King George VI, the first time in history that a British monarch had traveled to the U.S. Sounds like nothing but juicy fun there, so bring it on.

OK, an end to the good news for now, but I promise more of it, about two movies I really want to see, is coming. But before that, "Mad Men," already delayed until at least fall, now won't be coming on this year at all, and in case you can't tell yet, that makes this one man just mad as hell.

According to Deadline, show mastermind Matthew Weiner is holding out on three issues that, if this were a lesser show, I'd certainly deem worth fighting for. Per Deadline, those are: integrating product placement into the series, cutting two minutes from each episode's running time in favor of more commercials and eliminating/reducing two regular cast members to save money.

Again, all noble goals, but so is compromise. Though I'm obviously not in the room for this, if I were, of those three I'd think that cutting two minutes would be a lot less onerous than the other two demands, particularly the product placement, which would likely just be an awkward mess.

And there's of course a higher goal here, new episodes of "Mad Men"! No good word on that yet obviously, but as soon as I hear anything like that, you will too.

OK, enough of that gloomy stuff, so how about the opposite in two movie projects that could have been doomed to DVD getting at least a small release window?

First up is "The Rum Diary," which I had almost forgotten about because it's been on the shelf so long. Now, however, it's been picked up by FilmDistrict and even given a release date of Oct. 11 THIS YEAR, and with one Johnny Depp as the star, hopefully that means wide enough to even reach my little corner of the world.

The movie comes from "Withnail and I" director Bruce Robinson, definitely one of my personal favorites, and stars Depp as an American reporter who heads down to Puerto Rico, where he gets involved in a love triangle involving a married woman (Amber Heard) and her shady businessman husband (Aaron Eckhart). The film's been long finished, so bring it on already.

And for anyone who's never seen "Withnail and I," here's a taste of exactly why you should as soon as possible (and I believe it's streaming on Netflix).



And perhaps even less likely than a new movie from Bruce Robinson is one from Whit Stillman, who it's easy to forget managed to direct three very smart comedies in "Metropolitan" (a definite favorite around here), "Barcelona" and "The Last Days of Disco" before pretty much disappearing from the face of the planet around 1998. Well, now, he's finally back with something called "Violet Wister's Damsels in Distress," and even better, it's been picked up by Sony Pictures Classics, with a release date still to be determined.

So, what's it about? The story, which sounds perfect for Stillman's wit, is about a group of young women who come up with a code of conduct for a grungy east coast university. It's probably a whole lot better than I'm making it sound here, so here's hoping the flick starring Greta Gerwig and Adam Brody gets some kind fairly wide release soon.

OK, after that, a few tidbits from Pixar, and then something so silly for the finish that you really just have to give in and embrace it.

Up next for Pixar this summer is something I really can't manage to get excited about at all, "Cars 2." It's bad enough that the studio is now seemingly solidly in the sequel business, but everything I've seen from this particular one just looks like the height of banality.

After that, however, things should get interesting again. In Entertainment Weekly, Pixar has released concept art and the story for its 2012 fairy tale, now called "Brave" and formerly titled "The Bear and the Bow." And the best news of all about it is that it features the voice of Kelly Macdonald of "Trainspotting," "No Country for Old Men" and, most recently, "Boardwalk Empire" fame. Bully.

So, what's it about? Per EW, it involves Princess Merida (Macdonald) who one day breaks a sacred custom of her kingdom, led by King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), that brings disorder to the land. To try to rectify the situation, Merida seeks out a Wise Woman (Julie Walters), who grants her a wish that turns out to have unlucky consequences.

Along with this being Pixar's first female heroine, it will also be the first Pixar movie to be directed by a woman, Brenda Chapman, director of "The Prince of Egypt." Definitely keep your eyes on this one. Here below is the best of the concept art featured in EW, which presumably features Macdonald's character:


Unfortunately, for 2013, Pixar is jumping right back into the sequel game, but at least this time it's for one of the studios funnest movies. "Monsters University" will again feature the voices of John Goodman and Billy Crystal as Sully and Mike, and will presumably be about their education. That could I suppose be fun, but I'll close today with one sequel that thankfully will go no further than the blissfully Funny or Die parody below. Tara Reid was rightfully mocked last year when she claimed, with no proof at all, that a sequel to "The Big Lebowski" was in the works, but you definitely have to give her credit for being able to make so much fun of herself in this video. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

The Big Lebowski 2 with Tara Reid from Tara Reid

" I gave him like a traditional African name, O.J." - brace yourself for Bruno

Actually, the funniest thing I could find out there that's not about Sacha Baron Cohen is that an NBC affiliate in Boston - Jay Leno's hometown - is refusing to air his upcoming five-day-a-week primetime show, saying that an hour of its local news would simply attract more viewers at 10 p.m.

Here's hoping that starts a movement. Now, I really have nothing against Mr. Leno personally, but I haven't found him to be anything approaching funny for many a year now, and I just can't imagine who would want to tune in for five hours a week of him "interviewing" people. That's simply overkill on an epic scale, and it must be stopped now.

And in other news before I get to the main attraction, there's evidence that two movies I wasn't sure would ever get made are actually getting started. First and most exciting comes news that principal photography started in late March for "Withnail and I" director Bruce Robinson's take on Hunter S. Thompson's first novel, "The Rum Diary." I had heard rumors that Johnny Depp would be in for this for what seems like years, which he is, but I still wasn't sure it would ever really come together.

The story is an autobiographical one about Thompson's days as a newspaper reporter in Puerto Rico, and it's attracted a great little cast to surround Mr. Depp. Richard Jenkins (resounding huzzah!) will play Depp's editor at the San Juan Star and Aaron Eckhart will play a businessman involved in shady property deals. Round it all off with young Amber Heard as Eckhart's fiancee who catches Depp's eye, and you've certainly got something juicy in the works.

The second flick is one that might only appeal to me when it's finished, but I really like Noah Baumbach's unfiltered fountain of dysfunction, and I'm glad he's still working even though just about everyone (except me) just crapped all over "Margot at the Wedding."

Production began last week in Los Angeles on writer/director Baumbach's as-yet-untitled next film, which will, rather amazingly, star Ben Stiller.

The story, conceived by Baumbach and his much prettier half, Jennifer Jason Leigh, is about a man (Stiller) who's at a crossroads in his life and ends up housesitting at his brother's L.A. home, where he begins pitching woo to his brother's assistant, an aspiring singer played by Greta Gerwig. That doesn't sound all that promising on paper, but I really like Baumbach's claustrophobic style of filmmaking, so I'll definitely check out what he comes up with here.

OK, on to the main event. I've posted videos on here before that were certainly "not safe for work," but certainly BE WARNED THIS TIME. It shouldn't be terribly surprising to anyone that what Sacha Baron Cohen has cooked up for his second feature film as the rather seriously gay fashion reporter "Bruno" will be just about as offensive as imaginable, but I'm not sure any more words from me can really prepare you for this. Just please, seriously, make sure no one's standing behind you when you watch this trailer, which includes, among other things, a naked dominatrix and a whole lot of laughs.

Enjoy, and please, please, please go see Greg Mottola's "Adventureland" this weekend (as I will Saturday afternoon) so it doesn't simply just get flattened by "Fast & Furious." Peace out.

Bruno - International Red Band Trailer | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Looking for the next "Arrested Development"?

"Nothing for 40 years in the business, then my son graduates from college, goes to work for Price Waterhouse and boom!"
- The ever-humble Richard Jenkins on his much-deserved Oscar nomination for "The Visitor"

As for the headline of this post, it comes from the lead of a Variety story on Imagine and its move back into TV comedy. As anyone who's seen "Arrested Development" knows, however, there could only ever be one show quite that madly entertaining.

That said, any effort to bring actually funny comedies to Fall TV is welcome in this little corner of the world, especially since I just assumed it would pretty much be a victim of the recent writers' strike.

What "Arrested Development" producer Brian Grazer was actually talking about that led to Variety's little bit of hyperbole does indeed sound like it could fit that bill, especially since it comes one half of the creative team behind "Gilmore Girls" (and not the half that created the unqualified disaster "The Return of Jezebel James.")

Daniel Palladino will be the main writer for a sitcom loosely based on Grazer's father, who Grazer said was "a lawyer with a slightly questionable moral compass." The show will be called "The Chairman of Chatsworth," so keep your eyes out for it.

Michael Gambon peruses "The Book of Eli"

I think the reason I just can't get too much into apocalyptic movies is that, once they're over, the world never really does end (not that I'm looking forward to that or anything), but I'm gonna give the genre at least one more chance for "The Book of Eli," for several reasons.

First and foremost, it's the very welcome return to feature film directing for the Hughes Brothers, Allen and Albert, who have been out of the movie game for far too long.

Secondly, with the new addition of Michael Gambon (a k a Albus Dumbledore the second), it's acquiring a first-rate cast. Denzel Washington plays the titular Eli in what the IMDB describes as a "post-apocalyptic Western, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind." Gambon will play one half of a "strange couple that holds onto old traditions," and Gary Oldman's in on this somehow too.

But most of all I'm just happy to see the Hughes working on a big-time film again (with this one tentatively set for release next January), because they showed so much promise before pretty much disappearing after 2001's "From Hell."

Will Johnny Depp really write "The Rum Diary"?

Speaking of a director who is soon (hopefully) to make a welcome return after an even longer absence, the adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's "The Rum Diary" to star Johnny Depp and be directed by Bruce Robinson indeed appears to be back on again.

Robinson, as you may or may not remember, made the simply brilliant "Withnail and I" in 1987 and only two films since (neither of which I have seen.) I just assumed that "The Rum Diary" project, based on Thompson's semi-autobiographical novel about a young journalist working in Puerto Rico in the 1950s, was buried somewhere in deep development, but it hit the wire again this morning.

The latest bit of news is that Amber Heard (Dale Denton's just-about-jailbait girlfriend in "Pineapple Express") is about to sign on to play the female lead, which will put her in the middle of a love triangle between Depp's Paul Kemp and a fellow journalist.

That all sounds good to me, but it will sound so much better if this ever comes close to becoming an actual movie, and I'll certainly tell you if it does.

Who watches the Watchmen?

I've recently started re-reading Alan Moore and Robert Gibson's "Watchmen" graphic novel again to get psyched up for the movie, and I can report that it more than stands the test of time. As I've lugged it around town to read over lunch, no less than three strangers (all dudes, of course) have come up to me to tell me how much they love the book, and I have to say I share that devotion.

And I'm reasonably confident that Zack Snyder's feature film, when it comes out March 6, will be a real winner. All I know for sure so far is that the viral marketing machine has certainly been efficient, with the video below about the Keene Act to suppress masked vigilante justice being the most recent bit of promotion. Enjoy it, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.