“Honestly, all I hope for in this particular case is that I love the movie and that it connects with enough people.”
– Tim Burton
Tim Burton is one of the hippest and raddest cats to ever come down the pike. He creates amazing movies and his latest is Corpse Bride. It’s a stop motion wet dream that has advanced the form to new heights.
Read our exclusive interview with Tim Burton on SuicideGirls.com.
Get to know Moxi better over at SuicideGirls.com!
by A.J. Focht
The Avengers has done more than just live up to the extremely high expectations it set forth, it did better than anyone imagined. It’s broken several records already, being the fastest movie to gross $100 million and $200 million as well as smashing the opening weekend record. One of the only records it left intact was the one set by Deathly Hallow Part 2 for a midnight release. Perhaps more importantly, fans and critics everywhere are raving about it.
Critics who didn’t enjoy the movie might be better off just keeping their opinions to themselves or they risk summoning the wrath of S.H.I.E.L.D. After A.O. Scott of the New York Times gave The Avengers a mediocre review, Samuel L. Jackson sent out a call to action to his fans on Twitter to find Scott a new job he could actually do. While many did rally behind Jackson, his remarks made something of a martyr out of Scott and his review, and the small group not pleased with The Avengers jumped to Scott’s aid.
Anyone who hasn’t seen The Avengers might want to jump ahead as there are some major SPOILERS coming….First, let’s talk about our favorite S.H.I.E.L.D. member, Agent Phil Coulson. We all watched him “die” bravely at the hands of Loki, but is that really the end of our hero? In a recent interview, actor Clark Gregg mentioned he is still signed on for two more movies. He doesn’t say what movie, but does say he has a meeting with the director of Thor 2. Could Nick Fury have just been pulling one over on the Avengers to get them to work as a team?
A new trailer for Amazing Spider-Man was released with The Avengers this last week. It sheds more light on the story of Peter’s search into his parent’s past. The trailer is fairly good, but was ultimately forgettable after seeing The Avengers.
Illustrator of Kick-Ass comics, John Romita Jr. has shed some light on the future of the Kick-Ass 2 movie. The film is starting production this summer. It is currently unclear if Chloe Moretz will return as Hit Girl as she has a full filming schedule. Either way, the movie is set to release in May 2013.
Michael Arndt, writer of Toy Story 3, is in talks to rewrite the Catching Fire script. Francis Lawrence has taken over as director on the film, and now they are looking at reworking the script. All of this has to be done fast as the movie is scheduled to release in November 2013.
James Cameron has closed down the development arm of his production studios and doesn’t want to think about doing any new projects. For the foreseeable future, Cameron’s mind is stuck on Avatar and only Avatar. In a recent interview, Cameron said his mind is set on making Avatar 2, Avatar 3, and maybe Avatar 4 and that is all.
Ridley Scott’s Prometheus comes out next month, and it now has a rating of R. The film decided to take the hit and not adjust to make the film PG-13. While this might narrow their audience base, it will hopefully help ensure the film is accepted by fans.
What would you say to Inception star Joseph Gordon-Levitt acting in a big screen production of Little Shop of Horrors? Well, that is just what Levitt and Warner Bros. are working towards. Levitt is currently one of the producers on the project and would also like an on-screen role.
The coast is clear, the view is distorted.
I have found myself newly single and have thus been thrown head first into the sad and sorry existence that is the dating scene. I am the first to admit that I have no patience for this type ordeal (and yes, it is an ordeal at times). I am probably every dude’s nightmare when it comes to being approachable, and then on top of that, it takes a very certain person to hold my attention for more than a minute or two. That certain type of person, unfortunately, is generally what our society refers to as a “douche bag.’ Yes, I have a firm belief that my “picker” if you will, is pretty much busted.
Through the trials and tribulations that I have been through since my single life has started up again, I have learned a few things. Coping with being alone is no easy task, and coming out of the security a three year relationship makes singledom all the more of a shock. It can also, at times, be an absolute blast, but easy and fun are not necessarily synonymous.
When I first became the newly single me, I felt pretty lost and found myself starting to see someone right off the bat. Not seriously, but in my naïve little heart I thought that it could lead to something long term. I was definitely mistaken. He was one of those guys that we have all had a run in with on some level. Extremely charismatic, good looking, acted like he wanted to give me everything that I wanted, blah, blah, blah. In the end we went out a few times, hooked up for a while, and then, well, let’s just say my rose-tinted spectacles fell off with a thud. I was not heartbroken by any means (ego bruised yes, heartbroken, no), but I did get hit with a major dose of reality. This gentleman and I ultimately became very close friends. We still have our fun from time to time, but it’s on my terms now and all of the cards are on the table.
When I look at my single escapades, and yes, there have been many of over the past few months, I just shake my head at my own antics and vow that I will learn and grow from them. This, of course, has yet to happen. Can you really blame me? You take a girl like me and throw me into the singles scene, and shit is going to go down. Especially with my affinity for tattooed boys with an “I don’t give a fuck attitude.”
I am not interested in settling down, at least not with anyone who is emotionally available and I don’t like to sleep alone. This is a dangerous combination. So what is a girl to do? Thus far I have been enjoying the ride. Never turning down a drink and breaking hearts along the way. It’s go time in Bradleyville. We will see where this all takes me.
I have no clue what the next few months will bring. Hell, I don’t know what the next few minutes will. But I do know one thing, I am having fun. Please stay tuned for further developments. I am sure that things are going to get interesting.
Until next time.
Bradley
xoxo
by Alex Dueben
The idea is rule by individual consent.
– Ted Naifeh
Ted Naifeh first gained recognition as the artist and co-creator of the comic series Gloomcookie, but it was the release of his own creation, Courtney Crumrin that really made his reputation. Since the initial miniseries Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things was released a decade ago by Oni Press, Naifeh has returned to the character a few times in between other projects.
He illustrated Death Jr. comics, collaborated with Tristan Crane on How Loathsome and illustrated Holly Black’s Good Neighbors graphic novel trilogy from Scholastic. Naifeh also wrote and drew Polly and the Pirates and wrote a sequel which was released earlier this year.
Courtney has always remained Naifeh’s best-loved creation, and this month Oni Press debuts a new full color Courtney Crumrin ongoing series, which serves as both an excellent introduction to Courtney and her world for new readers and a welcome return for those who know her well. Naifeh may have joked that the ten year anniversary of Courtney is making him feel old, but Naifeh remains just as talented a creator and as nice a person as he was when we first met years ago.
Read our exclusive interview with Ted Naifeh on SuicideGirls.com.
Silencia Suicide (with Lyxzen and Doxie) in Doll Harem
Get to know Silencia better over at SuicideGirls.com!
For more than a decade, even the smallest truths have been at a premium in the halls of Congress. . . and elsewhere in our government, from the Executive Office and WMDs to the Supreme Court and Citizens United.
But now, finally, Congress is *cough* aggressively attempting to restore truth in government.
Just as the Feds fully cleaned up the Wall Street and Bank disasters of 2008-2009 by convicting homemaking doyen Martha Stewart on charges of trading on “insider information,” they are now prosecuting former All-Star baseball pitcher Roger Clemens on six felony counts involving perjury, false statements, and obstruction of Congress.
The charges stem from Clemens’ voluntary 2008 appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committees in which he denied allegations by others that he had used steroids during his major league career. Stunned in much the same way Claude Rains was “shocked” to learn that nefarious criminals were hiding out in Casablanca, the Committees referred the case to the Justice Department for prosecution.
Clemens’ first trial ended abruptly in July, 2011, when the judge, citing prosecutorial misconduct, declared a mistrial on the second day. The Feds pressed fervently on, and Clemens’ second trial began just a few weeks ago.
Clemens’ defense? Through a 23-year career and 354 wins, he never once tested positive for steroids. Not once.
The government’s evidence? Well, Jose Canseco, who himself admitted to steroid use, wrote a book in which he “suggested” that Clemens “might” have taken steroids. Teammate Andy Pettitte testified that Clemens implied he had taken steroids, but also stated that he (Pettitte) might have “misunderstood.” And then there’s Clemens’ trainer, who’s changed his story five times, and now says without doubt (and no collaborating evidence) that he injected Clemens himself. In other words, the government has over four years built an airtight he-said, she-said case at a cost conservatively estimated well into eight figures.
And why not? Truth is sacred. Especially when spoken in the halls of Congress, a baseball player’s words in his own defense might threaten the security of our great nation.
So lies must be revealed. . . and prosecuted.
But perhaps – just maybe – prosecutions for perjury and making false statements should begin a little closer to home. Say, in Congress itself. After all, it impeached a President for lying about a blowjob, so why not impeach its own members for lies that undermine the very legitimacy of government?
Just a few months ago, Senator Minority Whip John Kyl (R-Arizona) gave a speech in the Upper Chamber in which he stated unequivocally that abortion was “well over 90% of what Planned Parenthood does.”
Of course, only about 3% of Planned Parenthood’s activities actually involve abortion (and much of that is just consultation). But instead of copping to his egregious error, Kyl’s office doubled down by releasing a statement that the Senator’s “remark was not intended to be a factual statement, but rather to illustrate that Planned Parenthood. . . . does subsidize abortions.”
In other words, Kyl’s statement was like Aesop’s fable of the Tortoise and the Hare that “illustrated” a lesson in persistence. But fables employ symbolic metaphors, not untruths. Attempting to “illustrate” any moral virtue with a bald-faced lie disparages both the argument and the virtue it portrays.
In conceding that his oratory “was not intended to be a factual statement,” Kyl admits that he knew it wasn’t true when he said it. Hence, he lied. . . to Congress.
Kyl’s not the only one. Every day yet another elected official ambles forth nearly foaming at the mouth with one falsehood after another (like Representative Allen West’s recent comments that 74, or 82, or 61, or 55 Congressional Democrats are in fact Communists). Do these politicos have any substantiation of their “facts” whatsoever? And if not, why aren’t the Feds prosecuting them as relentlessly as they did Ms. Stewart and Mr. Clemens?
What proof would the Feds have to support prosecution? With Members of Congress (and most other elected officials), every sleazy lie is on videotape. And most are entered into the Congressional Record, signed by the liars themselves. Which leaves only two rationales: 1) our elected representatives are morons who don’t know the truth, or 2) they are lying douchebags inhabiting the lowest rung of Dante’s Inferno. Neither is an acceptable defense.
The key ingredient to a successful democracy is an informed electorate – a citizenry that is told and knows the truth. Indeed, how can any vote be legitimately cast if it is based on lies?
It follows that if truth in government is not our first priority, then government itself is inherently false. For when those in elected office distort truth into illustrative fables grounded in lies, an informed electorate is merely a myth. . . and democracy “of the people, by the people, and for the people” becomes nothing more than a fairy tale.
Photograph: Keith Allison, Creative Commons
