Can Scruffy Hot Cillian Murphy Help Us Take Johnny Depp Seriously Again?

By Cindy Davis | Lists | December 22, 2013 |

By Cindy Davis | Lists | December 22, 2013 |

Five Things You May Not Have Heard About This Week…

5. NBC Announced Hannibal’s Glorious Return.

I think they mean “Embrace the MadSness.” And no one is more excited than me…but why the Friday night death-slot, NBC? Let’s hope the network keeps up its support, so we don’t have to start sending random body parts. Meanwhile, I hope my man Mads is having his Academy Awards suit readied; The Hunt is up for Best Foreign Language Film, and we all know that means the other films don’t stand a chance.

4. George R. R. Martin Kept His Schedule Busy.

While we wait for The Winds of Winter to finish writing itself, master procrastinator GRRM busied up his schedule the next few months. Martin is booked to appear at the free Game of Thrones screenings playing at his Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe, N.M., beginning January 6, 2014. That Monday will kick off three episodes a night; seating is available first-come first serve, and you can find the full schedule here.

3. The BBC Scheduled a Buffy Retrospective.

Though it pains me deeply to bring you this news, I am compelled to inform you that on December 26th, BBC Radio will present a Buffy the Vampire Slayer retrospective. To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the final episode aired in Britain, new interviews with Joss Whedon, Anthony Head, Neil Gaiman and Rhianna Pratchett will accompany the discussion of Buffster’s legacy. You can listen to the Front Row special through the BBC site.

2. Speaking of Whedon, He’s Adding Another Villain to The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

…because one bad guy just isn’t enough anymore (Even when he’s Spader? Really?). So who’s the latest addition? Casting calls are out for a 40-50 year old physically imposing man; names being thrown around are Marton Csokas (Lord of the Rings, Rogue, Noah, The Amazing Spider-Man 2) and Dougray Scott. And who might these actors play? None other than Baron von Strucker. Additionally, Latino Review says *Spoiler*—swipe ahead to read: “In the film Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) work for Baron von Strucker.” The Avengers: Age of Ultron stars about fifty zillion people and hits theaters May 15, 2015.

1. Not One But Two Transcendence Trailers Dropped.

With the trajectory his career has taken these past several years…the Pirates of the Caribbean series, The Lone Ranger, The Tourist and Dark Shadows, can we still take Johnny Depp seriously? Maybe some beardalicious Cillian Murphy or the gorgeous Rebecca Hall will help? He’s got to start somewhere, right—Depp is a bit young to have hit the too-old-to-care point in his career; maybe Wally Pfister’s (Christopher Nolan’s longtime cinematographer) feature debut can set him back on track. The concept is cool: Depp plays an obsessed AI developer working on a self-aware machine. As you can see by the trailers, his research takes an odd direction. Transcendence also stars Morgan Freeman, Paul Bettany and Kate Mara.

Cindy Davis, (Twitter) ravenously awaits Mads’ return.