A few quick notes

It's Tuesday, so you know all I'm thinking about is the impending brain flambe that "Lost" is about to produce in a matter of hours. That said, a bevy of tiny tidbits broke last night, and I don't want to miss out. So...what am I waiting for? Let's do this thing!

1.) - Spider-man is finding things hard suddenly

Yep, that headline was just an excuse for me to post this. Hey, you'd do it too. Turns out that Alan Cumming is out as the Green Goblin in the Broadway version of Spider-man, which I'm convinced isn't going to ever happen. With the music of U2 and Julie Taymor directing, I thought for sure this thing would at least see the light of day, but it turns out that it is waaaaay too expensive, and delay after delay in funding means everybody is abandoning ship as though there was a Lohan driving. My hope has now gone from one day seeing Spidey live on stage in New York to praying that they at least release the U2 music as some kind of CD I can buy and listen to whilst I read Spidey comics. So long as there is some connection between U2 and Spider-man that I can physically see, hold, or listen to, I'm good.

2.) - Bond meets a trap he can't boff his way out of - MGM's bankruptcy hurts a lot of people, so it seems stupid to be complaining about this aspect. Nonetheless, my hide is chapped because Bond 23, the final part of the new trilogy, is on indefinite hold. Much like Spider-man's musical misadventures, funding for the project is tricky when your studio is so deep in the red that Glenn Beck is about to accuse it of socialism (get it, because Red was a slang term for communism, and Beck is a dipshit?). It's not like we're never going to see another 007 movie. We will. It's not like this delay will stretch out for a decade (at least, I hope not). Still, I want the new flick NOW, not later. Stupid money.

3.) Sam Jackson drops bombs of the non F variety - Sam Jackson told IESB that he's not in Thor, no matter what anyone tells you (leaving me to believe the tie-in will be Tony Stark and not Nick Fury in that one), and that shooting for The Avengers is set to begin in February. WOWZA! That's actually quite soon considering the director announcement hasn't officially been made yet, the cast is only quasi-established (we know the four principle actors in Chris Evans, Sam Jackson, Robert Downey Jr, and the guy playing Thor...yeah, I know he has a name, but I'm waiting to see if I need to learn it until after I see him in costume), and the script is under overhaul. It's an exciting time to be a Marvel fan...but it's also a bit nerve wracking. Although I have confidence in Iron Man 2...that's where my certainty ends. Everything else is a thrilling possibility but only a possibility. Stay tuned, true believers.

Mendes loses wife, movie

Two things: (1) You know it's a slow news week when most of my items are about news that isn't happening. (2) Despite my callous headline for this post, I do not want you to feel sorry for the rich, rich, rich Sam Mendes, who has an Academy Award, is going to direct the next Bond movie, and got to have the marital relations with the following lady for the last several years:
'Tis far better to have met, procreated with, and lost Kate Winslet than to simply have coveted her from afar. Not that I know anything about the first two parts of that sentence (I do know a looooot about the last one, though). Anyhoodle, news came down the pipe within the last day or so that Mendes has been taken off the adaptation of the brilliant comic "Preacher" due to his Bond contract (or, ahem, Bond bond). That's fine. I'm doubtful of the man's ability to deliver the slam-bang ending to the new 007 trilogy (ohpleaseohpleaseohplease don't suck), so you know I'm highly skeptical of his ability to make a compelling feature out of what may be my favorite finite comic book series ever. If you haven't read "Preacher," you're not only missing out on a little slice of brilliance, but I now respect you less (and before, I already had my doubts). Now, Devin from Chud.com hates the idea of an adaptation, stating that he thinks it's inevitable that it will get FUBARed. He may be right. Then again, he's also a curmudgeonly bastard who yesterday posted a hateful screed against "He-Man" and then publicly flogged anyone who defended it. He's never been the most generous person towards dissenting opinions (subscribing to the Rush Limbaugh ideology of "there's my opinion and there's go f**k yourself"). Still, the ardent defender of Godzilla and Tron just blasted the merits of He-Man, that's hilarious. Apparently, the only good nerd material is the kind that Devin already had some attachment to. I know this is side rant, but the man has been irking me lately. And I don't irk easily. He's normally bitchy, but lately he's just been hateful towards innocent things (we all bash Twilight, but clubbing Steve Carell...uncool). So, no surprise, I find myself once more in disagreement with the chubby, hairy, angry, angry, angry guy. I think an adaptation of "Preacher" could work. Obviously the best choice is to have it be an ongoing series on HBO, but there is a way to do a cool, R-rated movie that follows the first story arc of the comic. I won't get into it here, but I hope that "Preacher" does get made into something. It's fallen out of the collective consciousness and that's a shame because it kicks so much filthy, filthy ass.

More arousing Bond news

People are saying that the Bond girl rumors from a week ago may not be true. Then again, I think they might be. Freida Pinto is PERFECT for a modern Bond girl, so I'm just going to believe it's true. I call this "the Tea Party" way of thinking: You work backward from what you want to be true without worrying about facts. With this in mind, I'm also going to get pumped up about the next news nugget, despite it's likely totally untruth. Cinema Blend is reporting that Rachel Weisz, or as I call her "more please," is possibly going to play...the villain. Not the bondage-clad henchwoman, not the "sexy assassin," as is usually the case when a female gets a villain role (because even in fiction we can't believe women are smart enough to run the whole durn evil empire). Weisz would play the HEAD of the nasty opposition, the CEO of badness. Yes. Yes. Yes. I know that the script is still in a bit of flux. I know that we don't even have 100% info on who is directing. I know that MGM is in a holding pattern and won't even be moving on the Bond film until their financial situation is resolved, but dear Lord Baby Jesus, let us have a movie where there is an Oscar winning beauty in the intelligent lead role of head bad guy. This could be so brilliant, that it probably won't come true. Fingers crossed. Don't let her look fool you, this lady:
she can play a badass baddie. She can also come over whenever she wants.

Holy Beans! Pinto is the new Bond girl!

I was going to be done for the day, but then I saw this: Yahoo UK is reporting that Freida Pinto is the new Bond girl. I wonder why?
I mean, that girl is HID-E-OUS. How could she possibly pull off the coveted role of being incredibly sexy? I mean, that's just not possible. Truth is, I've been excited for this Bond movie for about 5 years now. Ever since Casino Royale kicked off the badassery in full force, I knew it would be the END of the trilogy that finally brought 007 face-to-face with the big bad guy. I also knew they'd save the hottest Bond gal for that flick. Now, I'm going to be honest here, I don't know what kind of actress Pinto is. She's been in all of one movie and wasn't really challenged in that role. True, all she'll have to do to be a Bond girl is smile and look pretty, but what made the series reboot work so far is that it's about more than superficiality. Rumor has it that the new screenwriter, who also penned Frost/Nixon, is taking Bond to Afghanistan. That would be intriguing. Especially given who will accompany him. Aren't you glad I broke in to bring you this news? I know at least one of you is.