NEWS AND NEAT STUFF - January 8, 2015

LISTEN TO THE LATEST EPISODE OF THE BONUS MATERIAL PODCAST HERE

DAREDEVIL GETS A RELEASE TO AIR DATE
April 10'th, 12:01 am Pacific time is when we can start binging through all 13 episodes of the highly (yet, cautiously) anticipated DAREDEVIL series.
With press releases claiming it to have a tone not unlike that of shows like THE WIRE, and the gritty crime drama's of the 70's, you can bet I'll be online, giant pot of coffee nearby, waiting to click.
The character has been a troubled one to bring to the screen, with the much maligned film starring Ben Afflek  being the much maligned red-headed stepchild of the Marvel Universe. That said, I have high hopes for this one, and if it lives up to the comparisons the creators are making, we culd have something very special on our hands come April.

REFN IS ABOUT TO GET BLOODY WITH IT

Any news of a new Nicholas Winding Refn film is good news. I've been a follower since the first PUSHER flick stunned everybody with it's crazy violence, and layered dramatic themes. Refn has always been a massive horror fan, and his work has always carried the underpinnings of terror, but he's never gone full blown with it. Until now!
Refn says the genesis for his upcoming horror film THE NEON DEMON happened when "One morning I woke and realized I was both surrounded and dominated by women. Strangely, a sudden urge was planted in me to make a horror film about vicious beauty.”
And now it looks like the increasingly popular (and undeniably talented) actress Elle Fanning (SUPER 8, MALEFICENT) will be taking a major role in Refn's fright flick, which from all reports takes place in Los Angeles, using the world of fashion as a framework. I can think of nothing more terrifying to set a film than in La-La Land and the world of vapid self-worshiping beauties. bring it on Refn. bring it on!

ETHAN HAWKE GOES TO WAR...THE GOES HOME FOR DINNER WITH THE FAMILY

I've been saying for awhile now, we are quietly immersed in a war movie resurgence, except these days, even the most seemingly patriotic examples are riddled with questions of morality, and doubt. Now Ethan Hawke re-teams with his GATTACA director Andrew Niccol for GOOD KILL. Hawke plays a fighter pilot, grounded to a chair rather than a cockpit, where he now operates a drone plane, instead of an actual aircraft. being so removed from the consequences of his actions, and not being part of the proverbial food chain of war, doesn't sit well with the hero's morals or ethics. Turmoil ensues, and he begins to wonder if he's not the terrorist himself. is bombing people thousands of miles away by remote control in a video game parlor atmosphere, and being home in time for dinner with his wife and kids in their suburban home, truly fighting a war?
Ethan Hawke has been enjoying a resurgence in the last couple years, and it seems well deserved. GOOD KILL may serve to elevate him even further. GATTACA is a minor modern classic, so here's hoping for great things from this outing.

     


THE SHANNARA SERIES MOVES FORWARD WITH ADDED CAST MEMBERS

When I was a kid we basically had two choices for bad ass fantasy. The Tolkien books, or the Robert E. Howard stuff. Those dominated the market. Then along came THE SWORD OF SHANNARA by terry brooks. Unabashedly influenced by the tales of Middle earth, it somehow carved out it's own niche, and became a sprawling literary franchise of it's own. Now, MTV is jumping into the cable tv fantasy sweepstakes, so solidly marked out by HBO's GAME OF THRONES, and is bringing the SHANNARA universe to life. I'm skeptical as all hell, hoping they allow the budgets and creative control needed to pull off something of such epic scale. SMALLVILLE masterminds Alfred Gough and Miles Millar are producing for Sonar Entertainment, and the casting choices seem to be solid.Most exciting is the breaking news that PANS LABYRINTH's Ivana baquero will be playing Eretria, alongside Manu bennet (my favorite actor from the WB hit ARROW), and Poppy Drayton. Austin Butler, and Aaron Jakubenko.
The SHANNARA series will be full on high-concept fantasy with monsters, elves, druids, and the like, promising to be more fx laden than something like the aforementioned GAME OF THRONES.
Here's hoping MTV keeps their fingers out of the pie enough for SHANNARA to succeed, and that they take care with the world building. It potentially could be a game changer, and a fan favorite for a long time to come.


STAR WARS ANIME STYLE...A ONE MAN CRUSADE OF BAD ASSNESS!
OK, time for some NEAT STUFF! I came across this amazing re-imagining of STAR WARS as an anime style cartoon late last night while bouncing around on Facebook. I don't know a lot about the creator, Paul Michael Johnson, but his page on the Deviant Art website reveals he made a splash by doing the same thing with DOCTOR WHO (and if I'm not mistaken, it yielded him official work...more later on that) and has now set his sights on the SW universe. This is pretty amazing stuff, and should have fans of the franchise fanning out hard. Check it out, it speaks for itself!

      

~Sean Smithson