Live Long and Pajiba
The Daily Trade Round-Up / Daniel Carlson
Trade News | August 2, 2007 | Comments (55)
So, there’s a bit of geek news that’s gotten lost in the shuffle recently. I know that some of you out there are fans of “Heroes,” even though I can’t bring myself to really like it. I’ve tried, too, but it seems like the show relies too much on melodramatic pronouncements and terrible voice-over narration to drive the story. (Fans can feel free to excoriate me for my wayward beliefs in the comment section; if so, please USE ALL CAPS LIKE THE CRAZY GUY WHO COMMENTED ON THE SECRET SHAMES GUIDE AND WROTE LIKE THIS. Things like that make my day.) Anyway, Zachary Quinto, who plays Sylar on “Heroes” and was previously best known for his work on “24,” is probably thanking his lucky stars he’s on the NBC show, since it’s undoubtedly the geek cachet he’s earned that helped him land the role of Spock in the new Star Trek movie J.J. Abrams is directing. Of course, it probably also helps that he looks a bit like Leonard Nimoy, who will also appear in the film as the elder incarnation of Spock. I’ve got mixed feelings about the project, myself: “Star Trek” skews a little too utopian for my tastes now, though when I was a kid I had no problem with the fact that a few generations from now we’ll completely work out world hunger and global war, which will leave us free as a people to explore space in matching jumpsuits. But Abrams is a proven name when it comes to action, and his underrated Mission: Impossible III showed that he could pay his respects to an established franchise while also giving it a welcome shot in the arm. But who am I kidding: If Shatner signs on, I’m so totally there.
In comic book news this week (deal), Edward Burns has pacted with Virgin Comics to create the terribly titled Dock Walloper, a Prohibition-era gangster book that will serve as a launching pad for an eventual feature. Burns is set to begin work on the feature script in the fall, and will write himself in as Mad Dog Madden, an aging crime lord. What does the title mean? I have no idea. But I’m curious to see how Burns marries his “five neighborhood guys hang out and talk about women” motif with a gritty, Sin City kind of tale. I’m resisting the urge to make a joke about She’s the Walloper. … Oh hell, I went and did it anyway.
Finally, this morning’s trailer watch brings the clip for 3:10 to Yuma, James Mangold’s remake of the 1957 Western, this one starring Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Peter Fonda, and Alan Tudyk. Great modern Westerns seem few and far between — I loves me some Unforgiven — but this one looks like it could do the trick. Interesting trivia: The film was shot in New Mexico, but when a freak snowstorm hit and covered the desert landscape Mangold needed, the crew brought in literally tons of dirt to hide the snow and preserve the look. Just a little extra information for you; that’s the Pajiba difference.
Daniel Carlson is the managing editor of Pajiba and a low-level employee at a Hollywood industry magazine. If he lived in the Old West, he would probably die of the clap or a gunshot wound or something before he hit 30, but he would have one hell of a time going out. You can visit his blog, Slowly Going Bald.
Comments
Posted by: Alex the Odd at August 2, 2007 7:02 AM
I want to comment in all caps, really I do, but I fear that if I even attempt something like that I'll suffer from a fatal aneurism. Someone else will just have to make your day I'm afraid.
Zachary Quinto as Spock makes my ovaries all confused as I point blank refuse to find Spock sexy but I still want to have Sylar's superpowered babies. Actors should really just stick to one character and stop confusing me.
Normally I avoid Westerns (that aren't set in space) like the proverbial plague but the cast for 3:10 to Yuma looks quite frankly delightful so I'm willing to give it a try.