The Week In Geek: Star Wars 3D, Disneyland: The Movie? Sherlock Holmes 2 and More
STAR WARS 3D FINALLY ARRIVES IN 2012
Although rumored for years, Lucasfilm has finally made it official this week that the entire Star Wars saga is coming back to movie theaters in 3D. Lets get to the good news first: This is not going to be crappy 2D to 3D conversion that we’ve seen in some recent movies like Clash of the Titans or The Last Airbender…John Knoll and the boys at ILM are undergoing a painstakingly slow frame by frame re-scan of the movies for 3D upgrade. If there is one thing and one thing only you can always count on from Lucasfilm, it is technical prowess. Now to the bad news: They are releasing them in chronological story order, meaning the first movie out of the gate is going to be The Phantom Menace. Sigh I am not the complete prequel hater that most geeks are…I enjoy much of Attack of the Clones on a silly action level despite knowing that it is bad, and I just plain enjoy Revenge of the Sith, but Episode I is just painful….to think that this is going to be the first 3D Star Wars movie just hurts. I suppose for the generation that will be seeing these movies on the big screen for the first time, it could be an awesome experience…after all, they get to see the series go from shitty to brilliant, instead of the other way around like the rest of us.The current plan is to release one movie per year starting in 2012. I personally think this is a stupid idea. They should just get these all in the can, and release them monthly they way they did the 1997 re-releases. Or, at the very least, make it two per year, so we can get to A New Hope and Empire quicker.
One last, indulgent Star Wars item; if you are not checking out the Clone Wars animated series on Cartoon Network because you are an old school Star Wars fan who can’t stand anything related to the prequels, then you are doing yourself a disservice. Clone Wars has turned into a Star Wars fan’s wet dream…the animation on this show is stellar, especially for television, and the battle sequences are jaw droppingly cool at times. This show is in many ways everything we wanted the prequels to be, and fleshes out the Star Wars universe in so many cool ways. I dare say this show is the best thing to happen to this franchise since Empire, and not surprisingly, George Lucas takes the same approach with the series as he did with that movie…he comes up with the stories and general direction, and then thankfully lets other people write and direct them. There is going to be an entire generation of kids who only know jedis and droids and bounty hunters from this show alone, and not from the movies at all…any movies…and you know what? That is totally ok with me.
DISNEYLAND: THE MOTION PICTURE
Disney does not seem to be merely content to milk their theme park rides like Pirates of the Caribbean for big budget tentpole movies these days…no sir, why just make a movie based on a single attraction when you can make a movie based on an entire theme park. This seems to be the idea behind Magic Kingdom, a proposed film that wil be set in either Disneyland or Disneyworld’s Magic Kingdom. Apparently the pitch for the movie is something along the lines of Night at the Museum, where the park “comes to life” (presumably after dark) and no doubt some adorable precocious kids are left behind McCauley Culkin style. We will then see their wacky misadventures with pirates, ghosts, and assorted Fantasyland characters who come to life when no one is around.
Apparently, Disney knows that this is a movie that you have to get 100% right, otherwise it could tarnish the reputation of the park itself. The rumor mill says that they plan to pattern this release on the way Marvel Studios is releasing the Avengers characters before they all join up together; Pirates is already a hit franchise, now they gotta make sure Haunted Mansion 2.0 is a hit, as well as planned movie version of The Jungle Cruise and Tomorrowland. Then all these characters can appear together in Magic Kingdom and viola, your movie is an event. The strangest part of this news is it seems they are working off a pitch from non other than Battlestar Galactica’s Ronald D. Moore of all people. So expect a revelation at the end of the movie that Snow White is really an angel, and then she disappears (sorry, I’m still bitter about that one)
SUPERMAN MOVIE RUMORS JUST GOT WEIRDER
In last week’s column, I talked about the supposed “short list” of directors for the Superman reboot The Man of Steel. Well, add another even more left field name to the list than any of the others…The Wrestler and Requiem for a Dream director Darren Aronofsky. (seriously, next week I’m expecting to hear how David Lynch is in talks for Superman. Jesus.) Still, as odd as it seems, remember Aronofsky almost directed Batman: Year One once. But Superman seems so far afield of his sensibilites, it is hard to picture. Aronfsky’s name has also popped up as a potential director for a movie version of Garth Ennis’ Preacher, which seems like much more of a natural fit.
MR. HOLMES, MEET YOUR NEMESIS
Moriarty has been cast in the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes sequel, and while it wasn’t anyone who was previously rumored, I believe the movie will likely be a whole lot better for it. Jared Harris, who plays Lane Pryce on Mad Men, is going to play Holme’s nemesis Professor Moriarty in the upcoming installment, instead of the much rumored Brad Pitt. I don’t know how Pitt’s name was ever in consideration, as the last thing I would ever want is to hear Brad’s British accent, but it seems he was never a good fit for this part. Based on his work as an uptight smug Brit on Mad Men, I am glad they went for “fits the roles” over “Sells tickets” this time around.
