by A.J. Focht
Today’s media is overrun with rehashed tales of old myths. It is nearly impossible to come across a fantasy story that doesn’t re-use mythical beings. Vampires, werewolves, and zombies all come from traditional myths and plague our airwaves and book stores; every author is looking for a way to put their own spin on this time tested material.
Some authors are very good at taking traditional myths and adapting them, whereas others should be hanged, drawn, and quartered for their crimes against them. Most myths have grey areas that can be adapted, but they all have their canon – lists of facts and pieces of the myth that cannot be changed without altering that which is intrinsic to it. When an author starts altering these facts they upset the status quo. They weaken not only the fabric of the mythological being – but our ability to suspend our disbelief. This leaves their final product looking like a cheap bastardization of the original.
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by Damon Martin
Imagine the terror of hearing the news that your baby has been kidnapped by an Irish Republican Army operative, and you’re left to deal with the emotional implosion while trying to grasp how exactly you’ll fight, scratch, claw or kill to get your son back.
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by Nicole Powers
“I’m genuinely a fan of most of the people I trash.”
– Kathy Griffin
On the surface Kathy Griffin’s “reality” show, My Life on the D-List, may be about the comedienne’s relentless quest for A-List acclaim. However, in reality (of the real variety), Griffin’s Emmy Award-winning Bravo show pokes fun at and undermines the very institution she purports to covet above all else: fame.
Furthermore, while other reality stars make a virtue out of their genuinely mean spirits in a desperate attempt to make the most of their fifteen minutes, Griffin delivers the wickedest lines with the kind of underlying warmth that lets all that “get it” know that no malice is intended.
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by Damon Martin
Star Wars without George Lucas?
The Godfather without Al Pacino?
Jay and Silent Bob without Kevin Smith?
Any of those scenarios would just seem wrong wouldn’t they? Well, that brings us to Monday’s announcement from Warner Bros. that they will be reviving Buffy the Vampire Slayer in a new film that will have no direct connection with the previous movie or television show – and also no connection whatsoever with character creator and long time Buffy writer Joss Whedon.
You read that correctly: The man who created and guided the Buffy-verse will have nothing to do with the latest incarnation set to hit the big screen as soon as 2011.
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By Edward Kelly
A funny thing happened recently over at The Big Bang Theory. At the start of this season, CBS was so confident in the sitcom that they moved it to Thursday nights, putting it in direct competition with NBC’s Thursday night comedy line-up. They also upped the ante by shelling out $200,000 per episode to the show’s stars (Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, and break-out Jim Parsons). That’s not the funny part.
Then, Cuoco, who plays the show’s female lead, broke her leg. As a result, the writers had a scramble to write a stretch of episodes in which Cuoco’s character, Penny the hot next-door neighbor, was absent or limited to one scene. That’s – obviously – still not the funny part.
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by Fred Topel
“I don’t listen to anyone else.”
– Robert Pattinson
Three years ago, anyone who wanted to talk to Robert Pattinson could have probably just phoned up his agent or publicist and gotten a lunch date with the struggling actor. Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire didnt exactly have groupies, and that was his only really visible role.
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By Edward Kelly
Intimate is not usually a word used when describing late night talk shows. Generally, a better track to take is to simply focus on the host’s ability to crack a few jokes, ensure that they’re relatively amiable, and that they interview a hopefully engaging guest. But if it were that easy then everyone would be able to do it.
On Monday night, Conan O’Brien returned to the airwaves on the cable network TBS. His new show, aptly titled Conan, marks what will hopefully be the denouement of The Late Night Debacle. To refresh: O’Brien took over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. After only seven months at the helm, NBC decided that maintaining a cool head in the face of trying times was a really dumb idea. Instead they seemed to think that panicking, airing private grievances in the most public of forums, and spending Brinks truck’s full of cash would be a much better way of doing business. It was like the National Broadcasting Company decided that nothing says “profits” to shareholders like the execs reenacting plots from Degrassi Junior High. You know what came next: O’Brien was ousted and offered his too-late slot back, and Leno was reinstalled in his old post-news position.
Instead of disappearing quietly back to the graveyard shift, O’Brien did what he does best: went right on being Conan O’Brien. He hit the road with his Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television Tour and signed up for a Twitter account. Then came the deal with TBS. Now, with the agreed waiting period required by NBC at an end, the new cable show is up and running.
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