The Week In Geek: D23, Sam Raimi’s Oz, New Star Trek On TV? A Napster Movie & More!
D23: Disney Expo 2011
This past Saturday I got to attend the D23 Disney Convention at the Anaheim Convention Center. By now you’ve probably read all about the Avengers footage that was shown, not to mention the official announcement of the two new Pixar films as well as details on The Muppets and John Carter. I really wanted to give my own personal insight into these presentations, but sadly, due to this con being a total clusterfuck of bad management and barely any available staff, I was unable to see any of the Disney Studios panels. I was not a happy camper.
Unlike San Diego Comic Con, which always has a standby line going for the big panel rooms like Hall H or Ballroom 20, once the room films up for the Arena (the Anaheim version of Hall H) they close off the lines until whenever the next panel is set to start. When I asked a member of the staff why they do this instead of keeping a standby line going at all times, they just shrugged and said “we don’t have enough staff or volunteers to manage that.” If this Con is going to survive, a word of advice to those who run it: Get your shit together please. Other than that whole fiasco, D23 was a pleasant enough convention, but really only worth going to if you’re a really huge Disneyphile, and also if you’re able to withstand the constant rotation of Disney’s greatest hits blaring into every speaker at all times. After the fifteenth time I heard A Spoonful of Sugar I was about ready to go postal.
Sam Raimi’s Oz
Of all the Disney movies that were showcased at D23 and got a lot of press, one movie that was presented but didn’t get a lot of online attention was Sam Raimi’s Oz the Great and Powerful, Disney’s latest attempt at reviving the L. Frank Baum’s Oz universe. Their last attempt, 1985’s Return to Oz, was a huge flop (although Disney in the 80’s wasn’t what Disney is today to be sure).
This movie stars James Franco as Oscar Diggs, a late 19th century charlatan magician and lothario who gets swept away to Oz in a hot air balloon and finds in this new world a chance to re-invent himself as a powerful Wizard. The three witches Evanora (Rachel Weisz), Theodora (Mila Kunis) and Glinda (Michelle Williams) have a part to play in all of this as well. Because of the massive success of the musical Wicked, a whole generation now sees the “Wicked Witch of the West” as Elphaba, a heroic figure, so it will be interesting to see them go back and make her a villain again. Maybe future children will grow up thinking the Wicked Witch of the West had a multiple personality disorder or something.
One cool tidbit of info dropped at D23 was that Raimi will be doing his filming of the Kansas portions of the movie in sepia tone and 4:3 aspect ratio, just like the original classic, and then opening up the world of Oz to color. Of course, this will once again be in 3D. *Yawn* Clearly, Disney is hoping to have similar success to what they had with Alice in Wonderland, but by 2013 isn’t everyone gonna be totally over 3D? Aren’t they over it now??
Wolverine Pushed Back…Again.
First this movie loses director Darren Aronofsky, and now it appears to have hit yet another snag. The Wolverine was meant to start shooting this Fall in Vancouver with new director James Mangold, with some shooting to be done later in Japan, but apparently filming has now been pushed back to Spring 2012. Poor Hugh Jackman just can’t catch a break with this flick, it seems.
In the old days (well, not so old actually, as recently as last year), Fox would have pushed this movie through whether it was ready to go or not just to meet a release date, but maybe that studio got tired of their horrible reputation with genre fans. After all, two of the best blockbuster type movies this summer were X-Men First Class and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. A Year ago I would have never believed it, given how Fox has creatively operated as a studio for the better part of a decade. If pushing it back means that we get a better movie, then by all means…take your time. We’ll wait.
Yet Another New Star Trek Series Proposal?
You might remember a few months back, I mentioned that Bryan Singer and Free Enterprise writer/director Rob Burnett had proposed a new Trek series to Paramount called Federation. Turns out that they weren’t the only ones to do so. The latest to make his intentions for a new Trek show known is a producer named David Foster and his company 1497 Productions. Foster envisions a series set in the “Prime” Trek universe (not the reboot alternate universe of the new JJ Abrams flick) and set some time after the era of Next Generation/DS9/Voyager. He didn’t give very many details about the proposal, but he did give a little bit of info in an interview with Trekweb:
“The series concept is fully developed, subject to change of course, with a solid 5-7 year series plan, pilot script and a conceptualized finale that intends to define Star Trek for generations, extensive character bios, costume and ship/set designs, and more. This is a drastic departure from the typical 8-10 page treatment of the previously pitched Star Trek series ideas that have not included even a pilot script”.
“The series is highly energized with a much younger cast, and uses cutting-edge future technologies with newly envisioned special effects and designs. It includes Klingons, Ferengi, Andorians, Vulcans, Trill, and many more. The Klingons are getting very restless since the Praxis incident forced them to come to the peace tables, and are tired of having to rely on the Federation for support. The Ferengi have discovered a vast new resource that has propelled them towards instant riches and power beyond anything they have previously experienced.”
In an article earlier this year with AfterElton.com, it was revealed that this proposed new series would finally include some openly gay and lesbian characters, something the supposedly all inclusive Trek universe has failed to include in the last four series.
My unsolicited advice to Paramount: Let at least one more Star Trek film come out before launching a new series on television. Maybe even let JJ Abrams finish a whole new Trek Trilogy. By that time, almost a decade will have passed since Trek was on TV, and people will be ready for it again. Over saturation and too much product killed Trek the last time… be careful not to let it happen again.
Bill S. Preston, Esq. Makes Documentary About Napster
It seems like only yesterday that a friend told me about this cool program called Napster, where I could get any and every song I wanted on my computer… for free, and within minutes. That was eleven years ago now, in the the summer of 2000, and for that brief magic summer it seemed like everyday was like Christmas, as I found all kinds of rare songs I’d been searching for for years on Napster. Of course, as we all know, Napster came crashing down in flames, but in its wake we got iTunes, (not to mention a million other ways to get music and such for free). Without Napster, we might now be living in a very different world in terms of how we get our media.
Now it seems that none other than Alex Winter (yes, as in Bill of “Bill and Ted” fame) is making a documentary about the rise and fall of Napster. Originally set to be a narrative film, plans changed, in part no doubt because of Justin Timberlake’s recent and very memorable portrayal of Napster co-founder Sean Parker in The Social Network. It is possible that he maybe wanted to steer clear of any other fictional portrayals of the guy so soon after David Fincher’s movie. Winter has been trying to get this launched as a feature for the better part of a decade but now VH1 has come in to help co-fund it as a documentary. Here is what Winter has to say about the project:
“The rise and fall of Napster and the birth of peer-to-peer file-sharing technology created by Shawn Fanning when he was a college student, changed music and movies, and made possible everything from Julian Assange, WikiLeaks to the iPod and Facebook. It became an expression of youth revolt, and contributed to a complete shift in how information, media and governments work. And it is a fascinating human story, where this 18-year-old kid invents a peer-to-peer file-sharing system, and brings it to the world six months later.”
Napster really did change the world, and I think it is high time someone chronicled their rise and rather spectacular fall. Hopefully this will be a documentary worthy of the subject matter. And just for the entertainment value alone, I hope Sean Parker is as douchey as his portrayal in the movies.
DC’s Deadman Comes To The CW
Finally this week, news leaked that the CW Network is looking to replace Smallville next year with a rather unlikely DC Comics hero: Deadman. Deadman is a long running DC Comics character who first appeared in 1967, and while never headlining much more than a back-up feature or an occasional mini- series, he has nevertheless remained a DC Universe mainstay. Deadman’s backstory is that he is really Boston Brand, a murdered trapeze artist whose spirit possesses various human hosts in an effort to solve his own murder. I imagine the pitch to the network was something like “it’s a supernatural Quantum Leap!” And ya know what…it kinda is.
DC CCO Geoff Johns has recently brought Deadman back to prominence in Brightest Day, and looks to be adding him to the new Justice League as well. Looks like after 45 years as a C-Lister, Boston Brand is ready for the big time. The person developing this series for the CW is Eric Kripke, the creator behind the CW’s longest currently running series Supernatural. For many, this means the series is in good hands. Deadman has a very memorable look to him. I honestly hope that they don’t change him into some pretty boy when he’s supposed to be pasty white with an awesome oversized flared collar. I mean, he’s a ghost, keep him creepy.
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