What the Hell is an Aluminum Pajiba?
The Daily Trade Round-Up / Daniel Carlson
Trade News | April 26, 2007 | Comments (48)
I’m starting things off this week with some geek news because, well, I feel like it. The rest of the trade round-up promises to be basically more of the same remake and casting sludge we here at Pajiba faithfully wade through and repackage for you, the humble readers, so every now and then we need to talk about something slightly less suicide-inspiring in order to keep our sanity. With that in mind, it’s been announced this week that “Robot Chicken” creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich will be producing a 30-minute special titled “Robot Chicken: Star Wars,” shot in the stop-motion animation of the regular series. For those not in the know, “Robot Chicken” is one of the many late-night, vaguely Dadaist (but not nearly as much as the throw-your-brain-against-the-wall insanity that is “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!”) shows on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, and in this one, rapid-fire comedy sketches are acted out by action figures. Some of the sketches are no more than a few seconds long, but quite a few lean toward the geeky, particularly those inspired by the Star Wars franchise. They’re fantastic, too: Mark Hamill voices Luke in the bit that uses The Empire Strikes Back to mock the sad levels to which the series would eventually fall, and the one where the Emperor gets a call from Darth Vader is just priceless. The special will premiere at 10 p.m. on June 17, so have those TiVos warmed and ready.
You know that feeling you’re (hopefully) experiencing right now? The slightly happy one from finding out some mildly interesting news about a show that looks somewhat entertaining? Hold on to that as tight as you can. Another literary adaptation was announced this week, and if history serves, the film will inevitably fall short of its source material. Julia Styles has been tapped to star in an adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, Plath’s semi-autobiographical tale of suicidal editor Esther Greenwood. I’ve never read the book, but not because I specifically have anything against Plath; I just never got around to it. I know that there’s bound to be someone out there that will misconstrue my particular shortcoming in this area as a sign of a latent misogynism, and I suppose there’s nothing I can do to dissuade you from that notion. (Joke’s on you: I don’t read any books by women. Their brains are only a third the size of ours. That’s science.) Stiles is also producing the film, which is being adapted by actress-writer Tristine Skyler. But that’s all almost beside the point. The most enjoyable fact about this bit of news is that Stiles will be starring in the film adaptation of a novel her bitchy feminist character was seen reading on screen in 10 Things I Hate About You. Hollywood just ate itself.
Speaking of metaphysical nightmares: Dig the trailer for Ocean’s 13. Do these movies even have plots anymore? It’s just attractive men in suits running around Las Vegas. Anyway, here it is:
Daniel Carlson is the managing editor of Pajiba and a low-level employee at a Hollywood industry magazine. You can visit his blog, Slowly Going Bald.
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Comments
Posted by: Kevin Longrie at April 26, 2007 4:49 AM
My brother's birthday is on June 17th. What a great present.
Despite your obvious hatred of women and everything they write, Dan, I have a book recommendation for you (and all of Pajiba). I promise it's more worth your time than the bell jar, and you'll score points for reading a book by a female author.
It's called Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060875070/ref=ord_cart_shr/102-0053821-0103369?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
I encourage everyone to check it out. (I'm sure this would be better placed in a book afternoon comment diversion or something, but what the hell).