Exactly one month from now, on November 20th, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 opens. Excited? I am!
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 Official Clip – “Star Squad”
Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.
In honor of its 40th anniversary, Monty Python and The Holy Grail will be re-released on October 14, 2015. The release will be twofold: an anniversary disc version (DVD & Blu-ray) and a limited, one night only theatrical showing.
Co-director Terry Jones goes on YouTube to introduce some never before seen material gleaned from video archives:
Terry Jones introduces the outtakes – Monty Python & The Holy Grail
From the YouTube info:
“Put together after months of searching through the Python archives, scanning the original negatives and reassembling scenes, this video includes extended versions of ‘Sir Robin and the Three Headed Knight’, ‘Get On With It!’, ‘Old Crone’, ‘Wedding Slaughter’, alternative takes from the ‘Constitutional Peasants’ scene, a shorter take from the ‘Black Knight’ scene and some lost silly bits.”
A nifty tidbit from Jones’s intro: the hip amputee who played the Black Knight with his leg cut off also did the voice work for his lines, and did a pretty good job.
Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.
Finland’s national public broadcasting company Yle interviewed actor Sean Bean (article in Finnish; the 4-minute video in English) during his promo tour for The Martian.
(Note: I wasn’t able to share the video; you’ll have to follow the link to Yle and play it there.)
Bean mentions that the Lord of the Rings reference – Project Elrond – was something he didn’t know how to react to. My partial transcription from the interview (from ca. 1:50-2:30) picks up with Bean’s answer to how it came about:
“I don’t know. I think it was in the script originally and it stayed in there, and it was very funny ’cause I’ve never been in a f– I was in a film that– then– which was– within a film. So it was very funny. [Laughs.] And, erm, you know, I just kind of listened to it, I didn’t know how to react, really [laughs], to that. It’s an unusual kind of situation I was in. But it was great, it’s great. I love that, it’s nice.”
When asked whether they joked about the reference on set, Bean answered:
“Not really, no, you said it and everyone went, like– [indistinct; laughs.] You know, I couldn’t kind of go, like, ‘Oh yeah, I was in [that]’, you know. But I– So I just kind of– [makes a gesture of playing it cool] went on with it.”
Other questions touch on the large number of team leader roles he’s played or characters who die (which Bean doesn’t seek out, specifically), how Bean built the character of Mitch Henderson with director Ridley Scott, and the kind of roles Bean would like to play in the future.
Serving exactly what it sounds like, the Quotes feature excerpts other people’s thoughts.
The Martian got me thinking about Tolkien (and not just because of the Council of Elrond reference, although I loved that bit). On a basic level, The Martian is about the same thing that The Lord of the Rings is about. No, Mark Watney doesn’t have to destroy a magic ring and Frodo and Sam weren’t planting potatoes in Mordor, but the question that both works keep coming back to is the same: how do you make good decisions when you don’t have the information you need?
I was thinking about The Lord of the Rings recently after listening in on a conversation between a couple of fantasy geeks about why they don’t like Tolkien. Their complaints were that Tolkien’s writing moves slowly, people talk about things instead of doing them, and most of the action doesn’t even happen on the page. These are all perfectly valid points, and if you prefer action to talking, they are good reasons to read something else. We all like the things we like and there’s no right or wrong about it. What struck me, though, was that the things they didn’t like about Tolkien are precisely the things I love.
There is a rich vein of fantasy literature all about heroes who charge boldly into the thick of battle and remake the world by sheer force of their will. Tolkien’s heroes are not of this kind. For him, what makes a hero is slowing down, thinking carefully, and making the best decision you can, even when you can’t be sure your choice is the right one.
My favorite part of The Lord of the Rings is the Council of Elrond. I know that I am in a minority in this and that even many people who love Tolkien find the whole chapter tedious. I understand the objections, but I can’t help loving the fact that dealing with the ring is something the heroes have to puzzle over and work out. Some fantasy writers would just slip in a helpful ancient prophecy or have Elrond drop a little exposition on the party and get the Fellowship on the road as soon as possible. (Peter Jackson, working within the constraints of film, understandably comes pretty close to this.) But Tolkien lets them take their time, piecing together scraps of information that are all fragmentary and biased. What they end up with is not a perfect answer but the best they can do with what they have. The courage of Tolkien’s heroes is less about facing the danger of Sauron and more about facing the fact that the best decision they can make might still be wrong.
And that’s what I love about The Martian. Mark Watney is a Tolkienian hero. He has to make the best decisions he can even when he can’t be certain what NASA is doing a planet away, or if anyone even knows he’s still alive. He survives not by strength or force of will but by slowing down, thinking things through, and facing the inescapable uncertainties of his predicament. He does the best he can with what he has. Or, as he puts it: sciencing the shit out of things.
I could use a few more heroes like this. We have enough heroes who swing swords, shoot guns, drive cars, and punch things. Let’s have more heroes who plant potatoes. Sam Gamgee would approve.
Images: The Martian via moviepilot.com. Sam Gamgee via dwarfsandhobits.tumblr.com
In the Seen on Screen occasional feature, we discuss movies and television shows of interest.
Author Patrick Rothfuss is known for the charity Worldbuilders and his Kingkiller Chronicle – a trilogy of The Name of the Wind (published 2007), The Wise Man’s Fear (2011), and a thus far unnamed, unpublished final installment.
Rothfuss just shared some great news: The Chronicle was signed by Lionsgate for a “big narratively intertwined multi-platform development deal” (in Rothfuss’s words). The plan is to produce a tv-series with a connecting movie and a video game – how awesome is that?
But it doesn’t end there. Says Rothfuss:
“You see, I never expected a studio would treat me like a human being. But through this whole process, Lionsgate has treated me with amazing respect. I’ve made what to me seem like reasonable requests, and they responded to them… reasonably. And I’m not just talking about pretty words here, they’re making contractual agreements granting me control of things. They haven’t just been reasonable, they’ve been kind, and understanding. […]
“Lionsgate is making its own press release today and there will be stories in all manner of Hollywood news outlets pretty soon. It’s not a coincidence that my blog is launching up on the very same day as their big announcement. In the same hour, even. Lionsgate coordinated with me so I could share this news on my blog at the same time they’re launching their story.
“This was important to me because if you read my blog or follow me on social media… well… you’re a part of the reason my books are a big deal. A lot of you have been a part of my team for years, and I wanted the chance to tell you about this piece of news myself rather than have you hear it on the street.
The fact that Lionsgate was willing to go to some lengths to let me launch this blog simultaneously with their press release is another good sign, in my opinion. It shows they respect me, and it shows they respect you guys, too.”
Sounds good to me! Scratch that – it sounds great. Empathy and respect make valuable capital for businesses, too. I’ll surely be keeping an eye on this project. And the best of luck to Rothfuss in the development process!
File 770 has a nice roundup of ten clips from and about The Martian, ranging from teasers and trailers to interviews and talks. The coolest is perhaps a 20-some minute call between two The Martian actors and two of six members of the International Space Station crew:
Space Station Crew Members Talk to Cast of The Martian
From the ISS, Expedition 45 Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren were on the horn; from the movie cast, Sebastian Stan and Mackenzie Davis during a visit they made to Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in September.
Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.
The wisest thing I ever heard said about the Muppets (and just how often do you get to use that phrase, anyway?) came from a college classmate. This was back in the heyday of Muppet movies based on classic literature: you know, Muppet Treasure Island, Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Wizard of Oz, and the like. One evening over zucchini and pasta in the dining hall a bunch of us were complaining about how the contemporary Muppet oeuvre was so disappointing to those of us who had grown up watching the original Muppet Show on tv.
“I don’t want to see Muppets be actors,” someone said. “I want to see Muppets be Muppets.”
Well, there’s a new Muppet show on tv this fall. I haven’t seen any episodes, but here’s the trailer for the show.
The Muppets – Official Trailer via ABC Television Network
I know a lot can happen between the proof-of-concept pitch for a show and when it actually goes on the air, but to me this looks like Muppets being actors. It’s Muppet The Office. Muppet 30 Rock. That’s not what I’m interested in watching.
Now, to be fair, the old Muppet Show was far from perfect. We’ve been rewatching some of it via Netflix lately; a lot of the material was already dated at the time and it hasn’t aged well. On the other hand there are things that transcend time and shine as brightly now as they did forty years ago. Mahna Mahna, for instance, is one perfectly formed comic gem.
Mahna Mahna via Constantine Trayanov
I’ve been giving this some thought recently and I think I’ve identified three essential elements of fundamental Muppetosity.
1. Muppets push the limits of what you can do with puppetry
Take a look at the Swedish chef making donuts and consider the technical artistry that went into designing and performing even such a simple sketch.
Swedish Chef – Donuts via SUBSCRIBE! (Y)
2. Muppets have emotional reality
Check out this Hugga Wugga sketch and watch how even a fuzzy purple alien can experience pride, anger, confusion, exasperation, smugness, surprise, fury, and shock.
Hugga Wugga via GreenGimmick
3. Muppets live on the verge of chaos without ever quite succumbing
Watch the madness unfold in the background as the estimable Dr. Honeydew continues to calmly explain his latest inventions.
Muppet Labs – Fireproof Paper via dorcm1973
The Muppets just aren’t what they used to be, but don’t despair. There are other places to find the three keys of Muppetociousness. Here are some of the true heirs to the Muppet mantle:
Community
Ostensibly a sit-com about community college students, Community flirts with chaos and pushes the boundaries of what a sit-com can do while staying grounded in the emotional reality of the characters. Here’s how a friendly game of paintball goes down at Greendale Community College.
A Fistfull of Painballs via thanatos101b
Aardman
The claymation studio that brought us Chicken Run and The Curse of the Were-Rabbit knows how to make wonderful comedy out of such ordinary things as a dog who’s at the end of his rope trying to deal with mischievous little bunnies.
Wallace and Grommit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit via Aardman Animations
Pixar
I don’t think all of Pixar’s work quite measures up to the best of the Muppets, but sometimes they can really deliver the goods. Here’s one to take you all the way back.
Luxo Jr. via Lukas blalbla
What do the rest of you think? Think the Muppets have still got it, or is there someone else who’s doing what the Muppets used to do?
In the Seen on Screen occasional feature, we discuss movies and television shows of interest.
Lately there’s been some talk about casting Idris Elba as the most famousest of British spies, most notably a Bond author stuffing his foot in his mouth about the hypothetical casting. Vulture had the brilliant idea of asking video artists Diane Bullock and Mike Schuster to put together a mock trailer for the upcoming movie Spectre with Elba as 007.
Idris Elba Plays James Bond: “Vulture Remix” Episode 10
Awesome! How do we make this happen?
Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.
The final trailer for The Martian is out!
The Martian Official Final Trailer by CBR Trailers
The more I hear about this adaptation, the more excited I get – and I’m not big on survival flicks! I’m looking forward to seeing more of Donald Glover (whom I only know from Community), Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Sean Bean (who better not die in this one!). I’m also curious about Kate Mara (whose performance I liked in the otherwise deplorable Fantastic Four reboot). I think I also noticed Michael Peña – Luis in Ant-Man – get some space shuttle time.
In any case, it’s going to be especially good after a weak movie August and a disappointing September.
…aaand there’s more Doctor Who season 9 news I seem to have missed! Fathom Events has put together a 3d-showing of the two-part season 8 ender just in time before Doctor Who season 9 airs on BBC America (starting September 19th).
Doctor Who: Dark Water/Death in Heaven Trailer by Fathom Events
According to the Mashable article on the season kickoff event,
“BBC Worldwide and Fathom Events will broadcast a 3D version of Season 8’s two-part finale, ‘Dark Water’/’Death in Heaven,’ in approximately 700 movie theaters across the U.S. on Sept. 15 and 16. The screenings will also feature a special prequel scene for Doctor Who‘s Season 9 premiere (ambiguously titled ‘The Doctor’s Meditation’) and an exclusive interview with the Doctor and his companion themselves, Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman.”
File 770 reports that the exclusive interview is hosted by Wil Wheaton.
We went to see “The Day of the Doctor” event two years ago and it was great fun. As opposed to “The Day of the Doctor” event, though, this one doesn’t show a completely new story, but packages two already-aired episodes (that have been out on disc for a long time too) with two extra clips. Even the added gimmick of 3d is a repeat from “The Day” showing. While I (literally!) applaud celebrating the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who with a special new story and movie event, this one smacks of a badly-disguised money grab. I’ll pass.
In the Seen on Screen occasional feature, we discuss movies and television shows of interest.
Co-Geeking 