Tuesday, 18 March 2014

Television shows in the works

On the horizon this Fall

Matt Ryan as Constantine
NBC has order the pilot thus far; no words on it becoming a full fledge series.
About a show called “Constantine”, to be more specific John Constantine, a Liverpool con-man-turned occult-detective. Based on a comic book series whose character was first introduced back in 1985.  If the name sounds familiar, you might have seen or heard about the big Screen Adaptation Starring Keanu Reeves And Rachel Weisz.
Well production on the pilot is set to begin this spring, and cast in the title role is Matt Ryan, his filmography credits include, The Tudors, Torchwood, & Layer Cake.





This line up has built a foundation of a new dawn of superheroes and what a decade+ will bring .




CW

Coming this fall, and spinning off from the episodes of the sophomore Superhero series Arrow is The Flash.  Starring Grant Gustin in the lead role of Barry Allen, a Police Scientist who gets caught up in a freak accident and has been bestowed incredible speed.    To catch the actual incident of Barry’s transformation you can watch an episode of Arrow titled  Three Ghosts’, (which can be streamed from the CW website) The Incident occurs in the closing chapter of the episode.
The upcoming pilot episode will include an appearance from John Wesley Shipp, the actor who played The Flash in the 1990’s television series.   Cast Regulars are Jesse L.Martin as Det. West, Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow,and Tom Cavanagh as Harison Wells.

On the Fall 2014 Schedule CW Tuesday Nights at 8pm



Fox
Coming on Fox is ‘Gotham’.   This series follows a young James Gordon’s rise from a rookie detective to Police Commissioner. It looks at the growing corruption that will become the Gotham that comic books fans have come to know, and we get to look at the personas of DC’s famous villains’ and discover their origins. Centering around Detective James Gordon, long before he meets what will become the Dark Knight.
Names that have been dropped are Penguin, Two-Face, Riddler, Catwoman, and The Joker?

Det. Harvey Bullock

Det. Harvey Bullock
Fox has unveiled the series will begin with rookie James Gordon played by the O.C’s Benjamin McKenzie. Two weeks into his job as a Detective, engaged to his fiancĂ© Barbara Kean (played by Erin Richards), he is teamed with shrewd police Legend Det. Harvey Bullock (Played by Son’s of Anarchy star – Donal Logue), the two stumble across the city’s highest profile case ever. The murder of billionaires Thomas & Martha Wayne, and we meet the hauntingly intense
             12 year-old son, Bruce..


Det. James Gordon

Selina Kyle


Other cast members are Jada Pinkett Smith as gang boss – Fish Mooney, Zabryna Guevara as police Captain Sarah Essen,  Camren Bicondova as Selina Kyle, Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot and Sean Pertwee as Alfred.


On the Fall 2014 Schedule FOX Monday Nights at 8pm


Update 2020: Gotham has concluded its series run, Constantine had joined the CW series Legends of Tomorrow. And Steaming services and networks like the CW are cultivating this era of the superheroes further and more expansive into a more favorable future.


Friday, 14 March 2014

Comic-Con



The start of March has brought Comic-Con to Toronto. A giant weekend convention that tours 14 Major Cities across America annually, and Tours Toronto, Montreal, Niagara Falls, Winnipeg, and Vancouver in that equation to.
 
 Comic-Con over the years has grown into a sweeping phenomena, it was once just a comic book convention, but has grown to include other aspects in the entertainment genre this includes Anime, Videogames, Television & Movies.


The connection is easy to see, the stories, and characters from comic books has cross pollinated into these mediums, and in various categories, like in Sci-Fi, Action, Horror, Comedy, & Romance.

 2014 will continue to see Comic-con oversees in the UK, Mumbai, New Delhi and Bucharest. 



The Biggest News to be released  this year is a 24/7 Comic-Con Channel. featuring content in all of the above genre and categories.

 Wizard World Comic-Con's
 the company that runs the pop culture multimedia conventions, have 16 comic-cons planned for 2014, they have partnered with Cinedigm to produce the new channel.
 Its a year round free-to-consumer, advertising-supported streaming.  Meaning its a channel available on-line.  Now there is also the  premium subscription options. Which is a bummer, it a paid service that provides access to Comic con Events, Panels and talent. So the cool Q&A Sessions and Screenings would not be available to the free consumer.  Cinedigm's have placed there film library on the network, which is said to include 33,000 Films and TV episodes and many digital content from various partners.   PLEASE NOTE: the Channel WILL NOT INCLUDE   Comic-Con San Diego.

In Toronto, we have FanExpo, who sponsored this recent Comic-con.

FanExpo is basically. a Comic-Con that has a heavy hand in celebrity / fan interaction.  With an event in April in Vancouver (April 18-20)  and a convention in August, in Toronto (August 28-31)








Tuesday, 4 March 2014

The End of Awards Season


From the worst - to the traditional unsung - to the most expected here are the winners to end them all. The Razzies (10 categories)


Top Honors of Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay is Movie 43





Worst Actor - Jaden Smith,
Worst Supporting Actor Will Smith,
and Worst Screen Combo Jaden Smith & Will Smith - After Earth

Worst Actress - Tyler Perry (in Drag) - A Madea’s Christmas,
Worst Supporting Actress Kim Kardashian - Tyler Perry’s Temptation Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel:- The Lone Ranger


 The Spirit Awards known largely as the independent spirt awards, it’s a Vanguard event in its 28th year of existence celebrating the best of independent film making, If you were to look at this years winners an argument can be made to the initial concept. In 1990 keynote speaker Martin Scorsese said in his speech independent film making doesn’t mean making low budget movies without studio backing...”It’s a way for being innovative out of inspiration as well as necessity”. For whatever it is worth take it with a grain of salt, Struggling artists, or lesser known established actors, inspiring visionary film makers, there is a platform - a grand stage - to make your mark, the Spirit awards working alongside Film Independent offers great films, artistic films, and art films a chance to shine against the raging big Hollywood machine. The winners of 2014 Spirit Awards were:


Best Feature - 12 Years of a Slave
Best Directed - Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
Best First Feature- Fruitvale Station: Ryan Coogler
Best Female Lead - Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Best Male Lead - Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club Supporting Actress - Lupita Nyong’o - 12 Years a Slave
Supporting Actor - Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club
Best Screenplay- 12 Years a Slave - John Ridley

Best First Screenplay - Nebraska - Bob Nelson
Best Cinematography - 12 Years a Slave - Sean Bobbitt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNPiT6BsxwsBest International Film - Blue is the Warmest Color
Best Documentary - 20 Feet from Stardom
Best Editing - Short Term 12
John Cassavetes Award - This Is Martin Bonner
 Truer Than Fiction Award - Let the Fire Burn
 Robert Altman Award - Mud

Usually the winners of the Independent Spirit awards don’t normally line up so closely to the academy awards winners. There is however, some comfort to be taken that the nominees who attended the Spirit Awards like France Ha, Upstream Color, In a World, Don Jon, All is Lost, and Enough Said, was given there moment of recognition on a venue to be celebrated with Hollywood’s Best and the televised world.




 86th Academy Awards Winners Best Picture & Adapted Screenplay - 12 Years a Slave Best Supporting Actress - Lupita Nyong’o - 12 Years a Slave

Best Director - Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity Original Score, Editing, Cinematography, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects - Gravity
Best Actor - Matthew McConaughey & Best Supporting Actor - Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club
Best Makeup & Hairstyling - Dallas Buyers Club
Best Actress - Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine

Best Original Screenplay - Her (Spike Jonze)


Best Original Song & Best Animated Feature Film of the Year - Frozen


Best Animated Short - Mr Hublot
Best Live Short - Helium
 Best Documentary Short - Lady in Number 6
Best Costume Design & Best Production Design - The Great Gatsby
Best Documentary Feature - 20 Feet From Stardom
Best Foreign Language Film - The Great Beauty (Italy)

Nominees and contenders that were completely shut out were Captain Phillips,The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle, Philomena , Nebraska, Despicable Me 2, Hobbitt Desolation of Sound, and August: Osage County. The Oscar Pre-Show Review was about 87% correct on the winners, and those we got wrong, we provided reasons on those who did win  big.