Actually, the poster above, of course, has nothing at all to do with Zooey Deschanel, but like her it is, in its own way, rather beautiful. In case you couldn't guess, it's a teaser poster for David Fincher's take on "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," and though I'm still skeptical that there's any reason at all for that to even be happening, the poster designed by graphic artist Neil Kellerhouse and shot by Jean-Baptist Mondino, at least, is pretty friggin' fantastic.
But the main event here today is indeed the new Fox sitcom "The New Girl," starring Zooey Deschanel and set to premiere Tuesday on Fox after "Glee" but, courtesy of Hulu, also fully embedded here today.
When I first saw the promos for this, my first two thoughts were "what in the world is she doing in this?" and "man, does that look awful." Well, having watched all of the pilot, it turns out to be a heck of a lot better than I was expecting, almost entirely because of Zooey herself and also due to some much-better-than-expected writing.
One definite word of warning: The show really doesn't need a "douche bag jar" (watch it to find out), because the three guys she decides to move in with seem to have that pretty much nailed 24/7. That said, the landscape of new shows looks pretty bleak right now. In fact, the only ones I'm now planning to watch are:
"Up All Night," mostly because it stars Gob Bluth and Kelly Bundy, and because the pilot was indeed pretty wry for broadcast TV.
"Two Broke Girls," because I like Kat Dennings (sensing a trend here?), and because packaged with "How I Met Your Mother" it should make for a perfectly mindless hour block of TV after a Monday workday.
"Ringer," because though it's entirely not anything close to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," the pilot was intriguing enough to make me tune in to find out what happens to Sarah Michelle Gellar this time out. And
"Terra Nova," because, well, dinosaurs.
And now, "The New Girl." It's far from perfect, but if you're a fan of Zooey Deschanel, it's also a heck of a lot better than most of what's on TV now. Enjoy the pilot below (which looks great full screen), tune in on Tuesday nights at 9 for more if you do, and stick around here today for some Muppets silliness just to bring the "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" theme full circle.
If Jason Segel's and James Bobin's "The Muppets" somehow sucks, it's gonna mean the waste of an already pretty epic marketing campaign, but I'm betting that's not going to happen. Already, we've been inundated with a number of trailers, a cover album of favorite Muppets tunes and more than a few parodies. But I'm an admitted Muppets addict, so as long as they're funny, as this "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" clip clearly is, I'll gladly continue to be a cog in the machine. Enjoy the clip, have a great rest of the weekend, and if you somehow haven't yet, go see "Drive" already. Peace out.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Yes, Zooey Deschanel can charm her way through anything: Watch "The New Girl"
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Treme gets a surprising third season, plus a free Lizzy Caplan movie
I love David Simon and Eric Overmyer's "Treme," but have to admit, this second season has so far been a real downer. No less entertaining, but, as Simon's stuff often is, very hard-hitting and more than a little difficult to watch.
And still thoroughly engrossing, if you take the time to dive into its tapestry of very richly drawn characters struggling to survive in the world of New Orleans post-Katrina. A bleak place, for sure, but still littered with moments of levity among the drama, with Antoine Batiste's (Wendell Pierce) efforts to start a band a very funny ride.
And now comes word that, even though the second season premiere on April 24 was down nearly 50 percent from the first season premiere, there will indeed a season three next year on HBO, and I can only say bully to that. Simon and crew obviously have a lot more stories to tell from the Crescent City, and I'll be watching.
After that today, there's really a theme in the news, being beautiful women who I like to watch on screen, be it big or small, starting with the confirmed return of Sarah Michelle Gellar to TV, and surprisingly to the channel (sort of) where she started way back when with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
"Ringer," in which Gellar will play twin sisters, was originally headed to CBS, but has instead been shipped off to the CW, which CBS co-owns. The show is about a set of twins, Bridget and Siobhan, who grew apart after a tragedy and couldn't be more different. Bridget takes over her sister's identity when she goes on the run from the mob. It turns out Siobhan has died in an accident, but she also has a hit out on her. Juicy stuff.
This could of course very be nothing but awful, but I've been known to watch CW shows that are even worse as mindless entertainment after a long day, so I'm in for a few episodes at least of this.
In other TV news about a show actually heading to CBS, the always very funny Kat Dennings will co-star with someone named Beth Behrs (I have no idea who that is, clearly) in something called "Broke Girls," a comedy that revolves around two 22-year-old women who "tackle life in New York City as they try to make their dreams come true." I always like watching her, and if you're looking for a rental, for a romantic comedy that's actually as funny as it is sweet, check out "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," with her and Michael Cera.
And that's a rough segue of sorts, because Cera has signed to a movie called "Magic, Magic," that only caught my eye because it will also co-star one Catalina Sandino Moreno - remember her?
Before resurfacing a couple of years ago in Steven Soderbergh's at-least-five-hour "Che" (OK, I might be exaggerating a bit there, but trust me, only slightly ... what an excruciating act of hubris!), she had only managed to appear in one other movie that I had taken notice of, but it happened to be my favorite movie of 2004, "Maria Full of Grace."
If you haven't seen that little gem, in which she plays a drug mule, rent it as soon as you can find it, and I guarantee you'll love it. And I have no idea what part she'll play in this latest movie, but I do know that it also stars Juno Temple and Emily Browning, is being directed by Sebastian Silva, and is about "a girl on vacation in Chile who begins to lose control of her mental faculties."
OK, enough about that. I promised you a free movie, and here it is. And for a comedy short (that's often pretty painful to watch), it's a real winner. Called "Successful Alcoholics," it's about a couple (Lizzy Caplan and T.J. Miller) who get back together seemingly only so they can manage each other's rather prodigious alcohol intake. Sounds pretty depressing, I know, but not surprisingly, it's also very funny. It's directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts and co-written by he and Miller. Enjoy courtesy of Funny or Die, and have a great rest of the weekend. Peace out.
Friday, February 11, 2011
A Friday clip cache, starring X-Men, Arthur and Pixar
I have no idea who all the dudes playing the 13 dwarves are, but it just warms my movie heart to see Martin Freeman in the photo above for "The Hobbit," even if he's not in his Bilbo Baggins costume, so there you go.
And before we get to the videos, there are a couple of tidbits of news out there that caught my eye, so bear with me.
Buffy ... well, at least Sarah Michelle Gellar, is coming back to TV this fall in a series that sounds fairly promising, and now it's starting to flesh out its cast. "The Ringer," created by two of the brains behind "Supernatural," stars Gellar as a woman on the run from the mob (or the law, or something, I'm not really sure yet) who takes the identity of her twin sister, only to find out sis is in some trouble too. So, Buffy in two parts, and now we find out that "Lost" vet Nestor Carbonell is joining the CBS drama as the FBI man charged to protect her so she can testify against the mob. Yeah, I'll check out at least a few episodes of that.
And in actual movie news about Jennifer Lawrence because, well, I'll watch her in just about anything, she's apparently signed on for Oliver Stone's "Savages," and though it's been years since he's made anything even approaching great, this sounds promising. The movie, based on the book by Don Winslow, is about two friends and pot dealers from Laguna Beach who, as their business thrives, come up against a Mexican drug cartel who kidnaps and holds for ransom their shared girlfriend (Lawrence). Juicy. And though I can't imagine there's any way that Lawrence will prevail in the Best Actress Oscar race for her performance in "Winter's Bone," she or Michelle Williams in "Blue Valentine" would get my vote, so here's hoping. (And in case you have trouble taking your eyes off that photo, you can thank my co-worker Mike Stucka for pointing it out ... it's apparently from Rolling Stone).
For her next part on screen, though, Lawrence plays Raven/Mystique in "X Men: First Class," which brings us to the first of today's three clips. With this coming from "Kick-Ass" director Matthew Vaughn, I have high hopes, since that was easily one of my favorite movies of 2010 (and made my top 10). The few photos that have leaked so far have been a little sketchy, but as you'll see from this first trailer, this should be an old-fashioned, but also hopefully great, superhero affair, with some somber thrills. Enjoy, and tune in to find out exactly what Vaughn has managed to do with this on June 3.
OK, I've railed about thoroughly unnecessary remakes as much as anyone, but I can't help it: This, at least from the trailer (which may well, of course, have all the funny bits), looks friggin' hilarious. As you'll see from this first trailer below, Russell Brand jumps into the role of "Arthur," which turns out to be funny enough, but when you add Dame Helen Mirren as his butler/nanny and Luis Guzman (welcome back!) as his driver/sidekick, this looks really promising. Besides, even if you like Russell Brand (which I really do), there's just something soothing about watching him get punched in the face by Mirren, and Guzman's Robin suit is something to behold. Enjoy the trailer, and keep an eye out for this on April 8.
And finally today, since it's Friday, and just in case you didn't hate your own job quite enough, Elena Myzik, one half of the New York Times' most recent incarnation of the Carpetbagger blogging team, recently got to go behind the scenes at the Pixar studios, and it's indeed about as amazing a place as you might imagine. Enjoy this video about her trip, and have a perfectly pleasant weekend. At least part of mine will be taken up reviewing both the most recent Doctor Who christmas special and Tanya Hamilton's "Night Catches Us" on DVD for Collider.com, so things could certainly be worse. Peace out.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Buffy's back .. sort of .. and a lot of other fun Saturday morning stuff
Actually, there's no possible bigger news out there now than what Ridley Scott is cooking up with Damon Lindelof of "Lost" and "Star Trek" fame, and since this is nominally supposed to be a movie site, let's just start there.
Rumors have been flying for months that Scott would, for his first science fiction movie in 30 years, be making either a sequel or prequel or some kind of extension of "Alien," but instead it sounds like he's thankfully taking on something much more ambitious.
Details are scant so far, but instead Scott and Lindelof are at work on an original idea, and they've made at least one truly great decision so far by casting Lisbeth Salander, aka Noomi Rapace, in the lead. Anyone who's been here before knows that I have more than a slightly unhealthy obsession with her, so bully.
Little more beyond that is known except it will be titled "Prometheus," there are at least four other major roles to fill, and this is set to be released March 9, 2012. Here's a bit of what Scott had to say about it:
“While Alien was indeed the jumping off point for this project, out of the creative process evolved a new, grand mythology and universe in which this original story takes place. The keen fan will recognize strands of Alien’s DNA, so to speak, but the ideas tackled in this film are unique, large and provocative. I couldn't be more pleased to have found the singular tale I'd been searching for, and finally return to this genre that's so close to my heart.”
Nothing but awesome there, but frankly, Scott has been a really hit-and-miss director for me. He's certainly made great science fiction with "Blade Runner" and "Alien," but without exaggeration I really think there's a pretty strong argument that his "Robin Hood" was the single worst movie of 2010. Even so, this news is certainly worth keeping an eye on.
But getting to the main event here today, Sarah Michelle Gellar is finally coming back to TV, and it sounds like she just might have something worth watching this time.
Coincidentally enough, during this time of hardly any new TV (except for FX's fairly brilliant boxing drama "Lights Out" - watch it), I've been going back to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" via Netflix streaming, and it's at least as good as I remember. Season six, which I originally thought was a bit of a weak link, has been surprisingly strong, with crazy Willow at the end being even more fun than I remembered.
And here's what SMG (worst initials ever? perhaps) will have appearing on TVs next fall (I assume.) CBS has given a pilot greenlight to something called "Ringer," from "Supernatural" writers Eric Charmelo and Nicole Snyder, and it just sounds like a heck of a lot of fun.
On the show, Buffy will play a young woman who is on the run from the mob, and to hide herself, assumes the identity of her wealthy twin sister, only to find out sis has a bounty on her head too. If I have this right, SMG will be playing two parts. Bring it on!
I tried to remember the last time I've seen her in anything that wasn't "Buffy" or "Angel," but off the top of my head couldn't. After cheating with an IMDB check, it turns out to be "The Grudge" in 2004. While that was a fun little flick, she's pretty much disappeared since, so I can only say welcome back, Buffy!
And in other news, via Michael Ausiello's truly great TV Line site, it seems that Michael Scott, and therefore Steve Carell, will be leaving "The Office" well before this season ends. Here's what executive producer Steve Daniels told Ausiello:
“Steve is leaving earlier than the [season finale]. The big ‘Goodbye, Steve’ thing will be before [May] sweeps.”
While that's a bit of a surprise, the battle to replace him should then take over the end of this season, and it should be a blast (and frankly some much needed new life to what is becoming the weak link in NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup - excepting "Outsourced," which I simply refuse to acknowledge at all). My heart is with Dwight here, but I have to assume they're gonna bring in an outsider, and last I heard Danny McBride was in the running, which would be perfection. Here's more of what Daniels had to say about it:
“Our basic plan is to see the jockeying and interviewing [for Michael's job], and not have that happen off-camera and suddenly present America with the choice. We’d rather play out the stories of the various characters who want that seat, and show them fight for it.”
The new boss will be revealed in what I have to assume will be an hour-long season finale, so let the Dunder-Mifflin infighting begin!
OK, I know I'm all over the place today, but I want to wrap this up with a couple more cool things before I dash off the pool for a swim. Artist Sam Smith, with whom I agree on half of his choices for the best 10 (well, actually 11) movies of 2010, has come up with a simply stunning series of posters for his choices. He can't sell them, but he has posted them all here, and they're very well worth checking out. For a taste, here's his great poster for my single favorite movie of 2010 by a pretty wide margin, "Winter's Bone."
And finally today, perhaps some karmic rooting for Peter Weir's "The Way Back" to play wide enough to reach my little corner of the world when it opens in six days. Considering the only other offering is "No Strings Attached" with Natalie Portman and Demi Moore's beau, the odds are actually fairly good. The movie itself will be epic even by Weir's standards, telling as it does the story of a small group of multi-nationals who travel through five hostile countries after escaping from a Russian gulag in 1940. Here, courtesy of Collider, are seven clips from the film, which stars Colin Farrell, Saoirse Ronan and Ed Harris. Enjoy the clips, and have a fantastic weekend. Peace out.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Can Sony right a serious superhero wrong ... and are you ready to laugh?
I've railed in this space far too many times on just why I hate the movie "Spider-Man 3" so much, but now Sony is about to take a chance on fixing perhaps the flick's biggest mistake (among many.)
Even if they are doing it only because they mistakenly believe that the box-office bonanza that is "The Dark Knight" (which is worthy of every penny it's earned and more, in my book) guarantees that America wants more superhero flicks where the villains take center stage, it does owe "Venom" a serious apology and some proper screen time.
By the time the character was introduced in Raimi's rather dismal flick it had already lost its charms for more than an hour or so. However, in the hands of a good writer, a better actor (though you really can't blame Topher Grace for what happened to "Spider-Man 3") and a director who cares more about the franchise than Raimi seemed to in the third Spidey installment, a "Venom" flick could be really, really good. And, frankly, possibly even better than the "Spider-Man 4" that Sony is also developing for 2011.
And, in the only news that really made me laugh out loud this morning, it seems that Freddie Prinze Jr., a k a Mr. Sarah Michelle Gellar, has joined forces with World Wrestling Entertainment. However, for all of those who - like me - were hoping this would mean him climbing into the ring to get pummeled by a 400-lb. steroid-gobbler, I have to break the bad news that this will be a strictly behind-the-scenes kind of gig. Vince McMahon, a longtime master of professional wrestling's art of hyperbole, had this to say about his latest acquisition:
"Freddie Prinze Jr.'s passion, energy and creativity make him an excellent fit for WWE. Bringing on board an experienced Hollywood writer, actor and producer like Freddie Prinze Jr. will only increase the level of entertainment to millions of viewers and passionate WWE fans every Monday on USA."
Ha! I'd have to say he's at least got the first sentence in that gush just about right, and hopefully the movies coming next will be somewhere near as funny as that (though, I have my doubts.)
August: A month to laugh?
If I'm not mistaken (though I too often am), my favorite comedy of 2007, "Superbad" (by just a nose over "Hot Fuzz") came out last August, but I'm not sure this year's late-summer laughers - though there are a lot of them - will come close to that standard.
Here's what's coming (and, oddly enough, all on Wednesdays):
Pineapple Express: Aug. 6
Even if it is just a stoner movie, I have fairly high hopes for this one. Just the redband trailer in which James Franco shows what really happens when you try to kick out the windshield of a moving car was enough to get me laughing rather hard.
"Tropic Thunder": Aug. 13
I'm still holding out hope that this one will be a very funny spoof of full-blown action spectacles, but there are some ominous signs. The fact that just about the only thing they show in most trailers I've seen is Robert Downey Jr. in black face (which, I must admit, really is rather funny) can't be a good omen.
"The Rocker" : Aug. 20
Apparently the director of "The Full Monty" just really likes making movies about naked dudes. More than 10 years after unleashing that on the world, director Peter Cattaneo is back with this tale of Rainn Wilson as "the naked drummer." I have my doubts this will be the vehicle to make the very-funny Mr. Wilson a big-screen star, but here's hoping I'm wrong. It does have a "Superbad" link in Emma Stone, Jules from that flick and one of Rainn's young bandmates in this one.
And, there is a possible wild card out there. For months now, always-welcome visitor Jeremy has been on me to watch "The Wackness," but the groovy comedy hasn't played anywhere near me - until maybe now. If my TV didn't lie last night, it will indeed be playing "everywhere" soon, and just might turn into the little summer flick that becomes a surprise hit. Wait and see ... and feel free to me know if you have any hope at all for the comedies of August. As a parting gift, enjoy this seriously cool "Empire" magazine cover starring some of the "Watchmen." Peace out.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Where are they now: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
The inspiration for this post actually comes from welcome news about a veteran of a different Joss Whedon project, Jewel Staite, a k a Firefly ship's mechanic Kaylee. 
Though this isn't normally exactly my cup of tea, I'll probably give "The Tribe" a chance with her in it. The flick, set to come out next summer, is described at the IMDB as being thusly: "After a devastating boat crash, a group of friends is stranded on an uncharted island, where they encounter an ancient tribe of humanoid creatures." Sounds pretty meh to me, but like I said, I'll at least give it a shot.
That news got my mind, which does tend to move quicker than my body when I write these things fairly early in the morning, on the idea that it would be fun to check in with the cast of Whedon's masterwork, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Knock it if you must, but it was the smartest and funniest show of its day, and any fans of serials like "Lost" and "Heroes" should recognize its import.
This might be a bit long, because I put together a list of 20 bit to not-so-bit players from the Buffyverse. And I hope at least a few people enjoy reading this even slightly as much as I did researching it. Here goes:
Buffy: Where else would you start than at the top? Given its apocalyptic storyline and extremely long rollout, I guess I shouldn't be surprised by the savaging of Richard Kelly's "Southland Tales." In the flick, which may never even make it out to my little corner of the world, Sarah Michelle Gellar plays a porn star/reality TV star (and really, what's the difference between the two?) She has two future credits listed at the IMDB, neither of which look too promising. The first, "Possession," indeed sounds like a parody of most of her post-"Buffy" film work: A woman's life is thrown into chaos after a freak car accident sends her husband and brother-in-law into comas. Thrills arrive after the brother-in-law wakes up, thinking he's his brother. Wow does that sound bad. The next is truly odd. Called "Alice," it springs from a video game called "American McGee's Alice" which in turn was inspired by the Lewis Carroll novel. One of these days SMG will get to star in a good movie, but it's not on the horizon yet, I fear.
Willow: I've been watching season two of Alyson Hannigan's new series, "How I Met Your Mother," on DVD, and I can confirm it's just as funny as I remember. Sadly, I couldn't find upcoming film credits that would offer the chance to redeem herself after the disaster that was "Date Movie," so here's hoping CBS gives "Mother" a solid five-year run or so.
Xander: I guess it shouldn't be surprising that "Buffy" vets get tied down to fantasy/horror work pretty fast. After a thankfully short run on the TV show "Kitchen Confidential," Nicholas Brendon has two current IMDB credits. I can't imagine any movie that really stars Rowdy Roddy Piper will be any good, but 2008's "The Portal" is described thusly: Investigators pursuing a bizarre hemorrhagic illness are lead to a strange black painting that they discover is a portal to another dimension. Sounds more than a little like your standard SMG movie. Next comes "Blood on the Highway," a horror/comedy with this rather ominous tagline: "There's a sucker born every minute!" I can only hope they're not talking about us.
Rupert Giles: The always-welcome Anthony Stewart Head is, as far as I can tell, the only "Buffy" vet who's still actively in the Whedon mob. Although I can't find a firm credit anywhere, I'm fairly certain they're developing a "Ripper" spinoff movie or miniseries for the BBC. In more certain credits, you can see the great Mr. Head as a ghost in Tim Burton's take on "Sweeney Todd" and then with, yes, Paris Hilton in "Repo! The Genetic Opera!" I guess a man's gotta eat.
Spike: "Buffy" and "Angel" player James Marsters had a nifty little run on "Smallville" and can be seen soon as the third lead behind Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler in the December chicky flick "P.S. I Love You." Much more interesting could be his next role, as serial killer Ted Bundy in a miniseries called "Chasing the Devil," scheduled to hit your TV sets somewhere in mid-March.
Anya: Except for some work (along with many of her fellow "Buffy" vets) on Seth Green's "Robot Chicken," Emma Caulfield amazingly has no work listed after a TV movie called "A Valentine Carol" that apparently ran on USA last February. Somehow I managed to miss that one. How in the world can a woman both this beautiful and witty be un- (or at least way under-) employed?
Dawn: Though she was great in "Mysterious Skin," I somehow managed to resist Michelle Trachtenberg's two other big flicks, "The Ice Princess" (which I probably wouldn't admit to seeing even if I had) and the rather unfortunate "Black Christmas." She currently has two other flicks listed as completed, "Kids in America," a coming-of-age comedy headlined by Topher Grace and Anna Faris, and "The Possibility of Fireflies," which promises to be exactly the type of flick I will never see.
Cordelia: Charisma Carpenter left "Buffy" to have just as good a run on the "Angel" spinoff, and also had a great turn as Kendall Casablancas on the late and much-missed "Veronica Mars." Amazingly, that's her last listed acting credit. About the only way I could have gotten excited about a "Wonder Woman" flick would be with her as our heroine and Whedon at the helm, but that's clearly not gonna happen.
Angel: I tuned in for one episode of David Boreanaz's still-running series "Bones" and rather quickly dismissed it as the standard police procedural fare that's saturated our airwaves. If I'm wrong and it's somehow better than that, please let me know. Along with that, he's just wrapped "Our Lady of Victory," a flick in which he plays the hubby of Carla Gugino (triple and resounding huzzah!), who plays the coach of the women's basketball team at a tiny Catholic college who leads her charges to a national title. After that he'll voice The Green Lantern in the animated "Justice League: The New Frontier."
Tara: Clearly the coolest thing Amber Benson has done post-"Buffy" was the "Ghosts of Albion" animated series with Chris Golden for the BBC online. You can still watch it here. She has four current (and most likely straight-to-DVD) credits listed at the IMDB: "Kiss the Bride," starring Tori Spelling (always a promising sign); "Strictly Sexual," of which she's the headliner and actually has this plotline: Two successful women, sick and tired of dating and relationships, decide to keep two young men in their pool house for strictly sexual purposes.; a horror/comedy called "The One-Eyed Monster," of which she's also listed as the principal star, and then a werewolf flick called "Shifter" toplined by Rachel Miner (remember her? I think she was once MacCaulay Culkin's wife.)
Oz: With his own creation, the stellar "Robot Chicken," and as the voice of Chris Griffin, Seth Green has had steady and very entertaining work on TV post-"Buffy." Unfortunately, his upcoming movie credits are a "rumored" role in the John Travolta/Tim Allen "comedy" "Old Dogs" and then what I can only assume is a sequel to the remake of "The Italian Job," to be called, creatively enough, "The Brazilian Job."
Riley: Buffy's college paramour, Marc Blucas, actually has a role in a flick hitting the multiplexes in my little burg this week, "The Jane Austen Book Club," in which he plays the hubby of Emily Blunt. He'll next topline the recently wrapped "Animals," some kind of horror/fantasy with a plot too odd to describe in brief, but did you know he was a starting guard on the Wake Forest basketball team back in the day? Bizarre.
Johnathan: Surprisingly, Nerd of Doom Danny Strong has probably had the most successful career of the "Buffy" ensemble. After a long stint as Doyle, Paris' man, on "Gilmore Girls," he managed to pen the movie "Recount." About the rather screwed-up 2000 presidential election, it's being made by HBO to be trotted out just in time for the 2008 edition. If you really wanted to, you can apparently currently see him in the Amanda Bynes flick "Sydney White." His future credits include "Bad Guys," which, since it wrapped in April, I can only assume is headed straight to DVD, and the comedy "Robbin' in da Hood," which is apparently directed by someone who simply goes by the name Quake. Yes, just Quake.
Andrew: The funniest of the nerds, Tom Lenk, actually had a part in this summer's "Transformers" as "Analyst No. 2," but it doesn't look too promising after that. His only credit: The I suppose inevitable "Boogeyman 2." Sheesh.
Warren: Along with a lot of TV work, head nerd Adam Busch has also managed to have a part in easily one of the worst movies I've had the displeasure of seeing in the last five years or so, "American Dreamz (zzzzz)." After that he only has "Geohunt," which I rather fear will be yet another flick about humans hunting humans.
Faith: Granted, Eliza Dushku should have gotten a much more prominent position on this list, but I figured a trio of very beautiful women was necessary here after the nerds. Her three current credits are "The Alphabet Killer," apparently based on the "double initial" killer of Rochester, NY, "Sex and Breakfast," a romantic comedy toplined by Rachel Miner's former husband, and easily the most promising one, "Bottle Shock," a flick about the birth of the Napa wine industry which will also star Freddy Rodriguez (huzzah again!) and Alan Rickman.
Drusilla: Juliet Landau's seriously insane vamp was always my favorite of the "Buffy"/"Angel" characters. Her upcoming credits include "The Yellow Wallpaper," described (rather optomisticly, I fear) as a dark, Gothic thriller, "Land of Canaan," yet another psychological thriller starring, somehow, Tara Reid, and another thriller called "Darkness Visible" (I couldn't make this stuff up!)
Darla: Along with her steady work on TV's uneven but mostly entertaining "Dexter," the alluring Julie Benz has a big part in next summer's "John Rambo." Yes, that Rambo. Please, dear Lord, don't make us have to watch her make out with Sylvester Stallone.
Wesley: The last place I remember seeing Alexis Denisof was in a very funny run on season one of wifey Alyson's sitcom "How I Met Your Mother." Since, he has nothing else listed, but I did find out that, like the great Linda Hamilton and the late Frank Perdue, he is apparently a native of Salisbury, Md., the little burg where I happened to grow up. Cool.
Caleb: Why not wrap things up with the agent of Buffy's final foe? Nathan Fillion went on to play Captain Mal, of course, in Whedon's "Firefly" and "Serenity" (when in the world is the Sci-Fi Channel gonna come to its senses and revive "Firefly" already?), and also starred with Keri Russell in easily one of my favorite movies of this year so far, "Waitress." His next flick will be something called "Trucker," with Michelle Monaghan which doesn't look too promising, but I like Mr. Fillion enough that I'll watch him in just about anything.
Whew! That certainly went on a long time, so I apologize to anyone who thought it was more than a bit of overkill. As Buffy herself once said, to me it was "just enough kill," and a perfectly enjoyable accompaniment to my morning coffee. Peace out.
