Congrats to our friend, Lou Anders, who is poised to make the leap from professional editor to professional author next year with the release of his first novel Thrones and Bones: Frostborn, “a fantasy inspired by Norse folklore involving a dead Viking sea captain, wyverns, and a 1,200-year-old dragon.” The release date is August of 2014, so I informed him he’s already been booked as our August (of 2014) Book of the Month Club guest author!
Thanks to all of you who suffered through Dark Knight Rises and took the time to submit your thoughts, in addition to the movie’s many, many stupid and illogical moments Cookie Monster missed in his review.
Thanks, in particular, to gforce and HBMC for offering links to these pointed video critiques that are just too good to languish in the comments section of this blog:
Next week, I thought it would be nice to throw Cookie Monster a bone and have him review a good movie for a change. And so, next Monday, we’ll all be sitting down to Despicable Me 2. The week following…
Well, that’s up to you. Let the nomination process begin!
Mailbag:
Airelle writes: “Well Joe, movie aside,, good place for it,, how did the oven shopping go?”
Answer: We didn’t have to go shopping for a new oven after all. When we woke up the next morning, our old oven was working again. Scared straight, I imagine.
Supplyship writes: “I can’t tell if you’re trolling us, or if you really don’t know that actresses Anne Hathaway (Les Mis, Dark Knight Rises) and Natalie Portman (SW-Queen Amidala, Black Swan, Your Highness) are two different women?”
Answer: They are? Are you sure? It’s interesting to note that they’re never actually pictured together.
Phantrosity writes: ” Can you infect elephants with goa’uld symbiotes? And would you call the resulting creature a jaffafant, or a japhpha?”
Answer: Oh, I’m sure you could. But why would you want to? And the correct term is Jaffelephant.
Joanie writes: “Just wanted to share with you all. The new Doctor Who has been announced…It’s Peter Capaldi!”
Answer: Ah, damnit! Always the bridesmaid; never the bride!
Bastien writes: “So tell me, great master, when is Stargate going to come back ?”
Answer: To be honest? I think when MGM feels sufficient time has passed.
Tom writes: “How much money could be lost by turning this into an eBook?”
Answer: Don’t know. A decision like this would be in the hands of the studio.
*Makes note to congratulate Mr. Anders in person at 71st Worldcon*
BTW, are any of you lovely folks coming to the 71st Worldcon /LoneStarCon 3, Aug. 29–Sept. 2, in San Antonio, TX, USA?
http://www.lonestarcon3.org/index.shtml
I’m local, so I plan to attend only a couple of days. Those who have attended past cons in Vancouver and the US Northewest may remember “AmyCat”; she’ll have a vendor’s booth.
CNN.com already spoiled the next Doctor for me. I was already avoiding part of the interwebs, but I never thought CNN.com would put it right up on the front page.
For another movie, my kids are really into Wreck-It Ralph (it was an accidental Kindle purchase). It focuses on the flip side of video game heroes = the lives, both personal and professional, of their colorful counterparts. Well, it’s not really that deep. It’s just a bad guy character who doesn’t want to be a bad guy, but the support group scene had a Pac Man ghost cameo. It has the most disturbing line ever overheard by a parent who mindlessly lets the kids watch Disney movies: “It’s okay to be a bad guy.” It’s a study in self-determination vs. being written by a programmer, which is not really that deep of a topic if you insist on it making sense before you explore it through a standard Disney plot.
Congrats to Lou Anders on his writing gig! Also congrats to Joe and Akemi for intimidating the oven into submission. Although I suspect it’s just biding its time until it can return to foil some highly important dinner party plans or something.
The “HISHE” clips are awesome. So true.
Went to see the new “Wolverine” movie tonight. I will say it’s certainly better than the last one. But then again, how come….
Speaking of Doctor Who, I didn’t get where people were getting this the next Doctor should be female nonsense from. The character is male, and should always be male. There’s a time and a place for these things and it’s not as if the show lacks any strong female characters, they have Clara and River Song.
They were never seriously considering casting a female for the role anyway, it was just a basis for deflecting attention while they look for the ideal replacement.
One name that was thrown around when David Tennant was leaving the show was Robert Carlyle but he elected and rightly so to join the Stargate Universe cast, he’s a great actor but needed that big break, and it worked for him as he then went straight on to Once Upon a Time afterwards.
Seems to be a fair few younger ‘fans’ I say fans but it sounds more like they were watching because they found the past 2 Doctors hot, complaining that Capaldi istoo old, but what they call old, I call realism, he’s what 900? 1000? years old.
Turning what into an Ebook? A curious mind wants to know, but couldn’t seem to find the referenced comment. Please?
“Turning what into an Ebook? A curious mind wants to know, but couldn’t seem to find the referenced comment. Please?”
Sorry. That was a reference to the Stargate: Extinction script.
@To be honest? I think when MGM feels sufficient time has passed.
That’s the thing Joe, there’s always a chance that many years will go by and nothing will come of it. You only have to look at how Star Trek, an arguably more mainstream franchise has been off the air now for what 10 years? But the movies are going somewhat strong.
I think in all honesty any new Stargate series will end up being a reboot for obvious reasons. Reboots are the ‘in’ thing at the moment. On the bright side we all know that there’s one network that will be first in line for it anyway.
Well after the answer to the question about when MGM will bring Stargate back I just have to ask… Do you believe that MGM will ever bring Stargate back?
Bastien writes: “So tell me, great master, when is Stargate going to come back ?”
Answer: To be honest? I think when MGM feels sufficient time has passed.
time passed for what? all it’s going to do is lose the current fans… which might be what they want, so they can start over with no (perceived) baggage. if that’s true… what a shame. :/
and speaking of stargate: has brad considered novelizing the 3rd sg1 movie? it could be actual growth for sg1, but with considerably less cost.
though i’d rather have a new series/movie/mini-series…
(((stargate)))
“We didn’t have to go shopping for a new oven after all. When we woke up the next morning, our old oven was working again. Scared straight, I imagine.”
You sure the dogs aren’t playing jokes on you? They have those shifty eyes yet such innocent faces. 😉
@ Do you believe that MGM will ever bring Stargate back?
Kevin, with all due respect. That isn’t even a question, MGM WILL bring Stargate back at some point. My money is on a reboot somewhere down the line.
Stargate is far from dead, it’s just taking a break, for how long, no one knows.
@ randomness: i believe stargate will be back too, but i want the version of sg1 and atlantis we know and love, with the actors that we know and love.
and it’s still not too late. but mgm needs to stop letting it sit around. rotting and all that.
i like brad’s *great* idea of combining all three series into one fantastic stargate movie!
Despicable Me 2? I guess I’m gonna have to go to the cinema at some stage this week, then. 🙂
As for the next movie . . . in celebration of The World’s End being released in cinemas I propose a double feature:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfDUv3ZjH2k
At a guess, if and/or when Stargate returns would you expect it to be a full reboot or to be a continuation of what has been? Big fan, first time commenter. Thanks!
I was going to apologize for missing the Dark Knight… but from reading the review and comments, I am not sorry at all.
Hooray for Lou! Sounds like an interesting book. I’ll definitely be reading it. And w00t! for the return of the BotM club!
Yay Lou Anders! I’ll have to check it out.
I don’t like mystery fixes. Fingers crossed on the stove…
I nominate “The Fellowship of the Ring”. Oh, I suppose I should ask what does Akemi like to watch? She may be tired of all this Sci-fi/fantasy stuff.
It’s been an Imitrex couple of days. 🙁
Yes, the Dark Knight. I was really rooting for the film but yeah, it didn’t make a lick of sense. Can I recommend Cookie do Skyfall next? Unless we wanna stick with the silly movie theme, in which case I recommend Star Trek Nemesis, starring Tom Hardy’s pouty lips. Imzadi indeed.
There is an interesting job at Lucasfilm Vancouver, several actually for VFX and a few HR:
https://www.lucasfilm.apply2jobs.com/ProfExt/index.cfm?fuseaction=mExternal.showJob&RID=5039&CurrentPage=2
@majorsal
In an ideal world, SG1 would of got an 11th season, Atlantis would of got a 6th season and SGU would of run its course with 5 seasons and we would seen more movies but alas that didn’t happen.
Although a combined combo movie sounds amazing, I don’t think we’l ever see it personally. I’m also not expecting anything new Stargate related for at least several more years. I just think with the amount of time that would of past that MGM will go along the reboot route.
That said, depending on who helms such a series, you could always view a reboot as an alternate universe and thus the door would be left open for old characters to appear at some point, just not as the main focus of said series.
I’d just like to say thanks for answering that question on Goa’uld elephants. I’d made the argument to Phant that they had too large a spinal cord because in our Goa’uld game he wanted to snake an Elephant and make them his Jaffa. Despite it being hilarious, as a GM I was somewhat against the idea for balance reasons. So naturally he went to a higher authority. Of -course- he did. Aie yai yai…he’s the best kind of player and the worse at the same time. Of course given the kind of tissue the symbiote would have to burrow through, I rather suspect the implantation would be a one-way trip.
I have to agree with Randomness on Stargate – I don’t think we’ll see anything for a few more years at least. As far as we know there’s hasn’t been a peep about it, and as we well know even when the ball gets rolling it can take YEARS for something to come to the screen. Even then I expect it would be with mostly new cast, if not a full “reboot”. Perhaps initially they’ll pull in some of the old characters to try to bring back original viewers. Who knows, really. A LOT will depend, as it always does, on the quality of the writing. WE certainly know who would be best for that 😉 – let’s hope MGM does.
I do miss it so, though.
Elephant ashrak. A dark legend of the night, nobody believes they exist, but sometimes you need to get a guy snuffalaphagused.
Randomness said: “That said, depending on who helms such a series, you could always view a reboot as an alternate universe and thus the door would be left open for old characters to appear at some point, just not as the main focus of said series.”
why would it need to be considered an alternate universe for the old characters to be able to appear?
just have it be a little bit into the future, where some things have progressed off-screen and the older gang is involved on the fringes or something.
or just create a new series *now*, with some sg1 and atlantis gang appearing once in a while. have it be in the now, but seeing as we’ve already missed the years that the franchise has been on the air, that could be the jump-to-the-future.
i wish i had the money to do this. i think i pretty much know what the fans like, b/c i’m one of them.
all this takes is someone with the interest and the backing to get this thing fired up.
“…all this takes is someone with the interest and the backing to get this thing fired up.”
The problem is, those are two really big things.
Well, apparently I have a doppleganger. In reality, I’m sure I’ve got many, but this particular one is on TV. I do currently get a lot of people saying I look like I belong to the Robertson clan from Duck Dynasty and that I should go as Willie for Halloween this year, but that’s not the guy I was shown last night. A friend of mine’s sister pointed it out to her and she showed me a picture of the guy. I mention this here, Joe, because of all the shows he could be on, he’s on MasterChef, a show you’re probably already watching. His name is James Nelson.
We could be brothers. Our hair and facial hair situations are pretty much identical, but my face is a slight bit rounder than his which makes my beard a little fuller, but not by much. I am tattoo-less and will always remain that way, too. But other than that…..it kind of freaks me out. When he’s on screen and I’m not paying attention to just him, I feel like it’s me on the tele and I have to double-check to see what “I’m” doing! It’s a very strange feeling!
Do you have any dopplegangers, Joe? Have your friends ever pointed one out to you? Have you ever met one?
-Mike A.
me: “…all this takes is someone with the interest and the backing to get this thing fired up.”
gforce: “The problem is, those are two really big things.”
not really, in that ‘all’ the series and movies we see start off with that criteria.
I nominate the movie Quest for Camelot to be reviewed by Cookie Monster.