I think I'll go to London today.

Load up Celery Man, please.

Just in case anyone forgot about this.

Coming soon: Aaron Sorkin's return to TV

Casting is under way for Aaron Sorkin’s unnamed HBO pilot centering on a cable news show.  Jeff Daniels is in talks to play the lead role, anchor Will McCallister.  McCallister was described to Deadline as a character, not unlike Anderson Cooper or Brian Williams, a smart and talented guy, but a pain in the ass to work with and for.  Still needing to be cast is the female executive producer, and the rest of McCallister’s staff.

Jeff Daniels has done a lot of great indie work, and was nominated for a Tony last year for his role in "Gods of Carnage."  However, my favorite role of his is Larry from "Dumb and Dumber."  I'm not kidding.

I’m excited that the show will potentially be a part of HBO, giving it leeway to explore content that’s off-limits on a network.  However, the downside is that a full season on HBO rarely lasts more than 13 episodes.  When a show is really great, which I suspect Sorkin’s will be, I much prefer a season that spans 22-24 episodes.

Big Love postmortem

Be forewarned, this post contains spoilers to the Big Love series finale. 

Harry Potter!

POP POP!

"Community" has been renewed through 2012.

Predix: 2011's Top Ten Best Movies

It may only be March, but it’s not too soon to speculate what might be the top movies leading up to Oscars 2012.

The past couple of years have been a bit lackluster in terms of quality films, especially with the weak economy forcing major studios to take fewer risks and invest heavily in surefire summer blockbusters --the upside being that independent studios have filled the void, allowing movies like “The King’s Speech,” “The Hurt Locker,” and “Slumdog Millionaire” the opportunity to flourish.

2011 will surely help revive the film industry, as the major studios put forward serious contenders for next year’s Oscars, while the independents continue to churn out critically acclaimed flicks.  Big name directors like Spielberg, Scorsese, Polanski and Eastwood all have movies in the works, along with cult favorites like Jason Reitman and David Cronenberg.

Below is a list of what I believe will end up being some of the year’s top movies.

SXSW

South by Southwest started in 1987 as a music festival in Austin, Texas.  Today it's also one of the premiere film festivals for independent films, second only to Sundance. 

One movie that on this year's docket that sticks out is Morgan Spurlock's "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold."  The "Super Size Me" director's latest movie has gotten a great deal of positive attention, and could potentially land him another Oscar nomination. 

After paying around $10 for a movie ticket, and having to endure twenty minutes of commercials in the theater, a viewer should not have to see awkwardly placed products throughout the film.  In "The Greatest Movie Ever Made" Spurlock recruits different brands to fund the entire film and attempts to determine how marketing works and influences people.

"The Greatest Movie Ever Made" opens in limited release on April 22.

UPDATE: The Hunger Games

I am not ashamed to admit that I enjoy books marketed to people much younger than I am.  One of my all-time favorite books is The Giver.  I adore the Harry Potter series, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I read all of the Twilight books, but loath myself for it. 

Add to that list The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.  Set in a future dystopian United States, each of the country’s twelve districts is forced to choose one male and one female under the age of eighteen to compete in a deadly televised competition where only the winner survives.  The protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, volunteers herself to participate in the Hunger Games when her younger sister’s name is drawn from her district’s lottery.  I highly recommend these books since they’re a very quick read, and quite entertaining.

I must not be the only person over the age of fifteen that enjoyed “The Hunger Games” because there is a film adaptation in the works, and the battle for the lead role as Katniss have become quite contentious.  Names being floated around late last year included Chloe Moretz from “Kick Ass,” Saoirse Ronan who was in “The Lovely Bones” and “Atonement,” and Emma Roberts who played the feature role in “Nancy Drew,” and is more famously known for being Julia Roberts’s niece.  

More recently, the contenders appear to be Emily Browning who can be seen in this month’s “Suckerpunch,” “Little Miss Sunshine’s” Abigail Breslin, Oscar-nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld from “True Grit,” and “Winter’s Bone” Oscar-nominated star Jennifer Lawrence.  This weekend Lawrence pulled ahead of the pack just in time for talks with Lionsgate, which is scheduled to begin sometime next week. 

As previously stated, I felt Lawrence’s performance is “Winter’s Bone” was the best of the year, so I’d be quite pleased to see her in the role.  If it didn’t go to her, I think Hailee Steinfeld, who is closer in age to the protagonist, would be a great second choice. 

Not a great choice?  Alex Pettyfer, who has allegedly met with the film’s producers about the role of Peeta, Katniss’s teammate at the Hunger Games.


UPDATE: Jennifer Lawrence has officially gotten the role of Katniss.  Also, Hunter Parish from "Weeds" is in talks for the role of Peeta.

Super 8

This summer's movie lineup is packed with superhero movies (Thor, X-Men: First Class, Green Lantern), big-budget comedies (The Bridesmaids, Hangover 2), and major sequels (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Transformers Dark of the Moon). 

There's very little room in the schedule for original titles, which require studios to take a bit of a gamble.  Other than "Cowboys and Aliens" and "Tree of Life," I'm really looking forward to JJ Abrams "Super 8."  Produced by Steven Spielberg, the movie doesn't feature any superstar actors to overshadow the plot.  I have a feeling "Super 8" will be more like Abrams's "Star Trek," and less like "Cloverfield."  In other words, good versus bad.

If the movie lives up to the expectations that the preview has set, I'd predict that "Super 8" will be the blockbuster Oscar nominee next year.

Today the studio released the first preview of the movie, other than their short teaser, which aired during the Super Bowl.

@gmail.com

 

A marketing research company attempting to build a 'taste graph' of the entire web has created profiles of what the average email user's account says about them.  They featured the four big service providers: Gmail, AOL, Yahoo and Hotmail.

I'm a Gmail user, and other than being a female, or owning a DVR, I'd say it's fairly accurate.  I do think it's funny that AOL and Yahoo users are profiled as overweight women who sit around in pajama jeans. 

Gmail users are most likely to be thin young men ages 18-34 who are college-educated and not religious. Like other young Hunch users, they tend to be politically liberal, single (and ready to mingle), and childless. Gmail users live in cities and have traveled to five or more countries. They’re career-focused and plugged in — they mostly read blogs, have an iPhone and laptop, and listen to music via MP3s and computers (but they don’t have a DVR). At home, they lounge around in a t-shirt and jeans. Gmail users prefer salty snacks and are introverted and entrepreneurial. They are optimistic or pessimistic, depending on the situation.

FTW

(via Kate Middleton for the Win)

Running will kill you.

According to a British study quoted in the New York Times, exercising a lot will kill you.  Rather, running consistently for many years can cause fibrosis, or scarring within the heart muscle. 

The study examined twenty men between the ages of 26 and 67, who had worked out strenuously throughout their adult lives. When magnetic resonance imaging of their hearts was compared to twenty healthy men who did not exercise as frequently, researchers were able to identify early signs of fibrosis within the heart muscle. Fibrosis can lead to stiffening or thickening of portions of the heart, which can contribute to irregular heart function and, eventually, heart failure.

The researchers did point out that moderate exercise a few times a week is beneficial to most non-athletes, but the emerging science suggests that there may be a threshold of distance, intensity or duration beyond which exercise can have undesirable effects.

I knew that running was awful, and here’s the proof I needed.  Now I just have to find a study denouncing the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables to justify my unhealthy diet.

Two weeks until Paris.

Human Planet

Everyone seemed to really like "Planet Earth" and "Life".  I don't like animals, so I didn't see either in full.  I don't mind humans, that much, so I'll probably try watching this one.

Four years in the making, the six-part series will finally debut April 10, 17 and 24 on Discovery from 8pm to 10pm.

The Killing

AMC has a pretty great track record when it comes to heavy serial dramas.  Though "Rubicon "was a bit of a bust after huge hits like "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad."  However, the channel redeemed itself with "The Walking Dead." 

Their fifth original television series, "The Killing" premieres April 3, and I have high hopes for it.  It's two weeks after the series conclusion of "Big Love," so I'll have an opening in my TV schedule where I can pencil it in. No promises though.

Modern Warfare

I'm obviously quite in love with the show "Community."

Fans of the sitcom agree that the episode "Modern Warfare," or The Paintball episode, is one of the best of the series.  Perhaps better than anything produced by the rest of NBC's Thursday night lineup in the past few years.  Yes, it's that good.

This season's finale on May 12 will not only be an hour-long event, it will be "Modern Warfare" redux, with a conspiracy and a final twist.  And of course, guest starring Josh Holloway aka Sawyer from "Lost."

Since May 12 is still a ways away, "Community" fans can look forward to an episode later this month involving the Greendale gang celebrating Abed's birthday with a surprise "Pulp Fiction" themed party.

Up!

National Geographic created their own version of the house from Disney's "Up" and successful lifted off with the help of 300 eight-foot weather balloons.  The house reached an altitude of 10,000 feet, and flew for approximately an hour.  Further proof that Pixar is awesome.

The Tree of Life

The months January through April are dismal when it comes to movie releases.  January and February are still Oscar season, so it gives the Midwest a chance to catch up on nominated films that the Coasts saw in November.  March and April are just awful.  They're filled with movies that aren't bankable enough to be released as a summer blockbuster, or considered seriously by critics.  May is when things finally start to turn around.  The big-budget flicks start coming out, and a few quality films debut at the European film festivals. 

One movie being screened at the Cannes Film Festival this year, is "The Tree of Life."  Starring Brad Pitt, the film has been in the works for the past couple of years and clocks in at two hours and twenty minutes.  "The Tree of Life" is one movies I am really looking forward to this coming year.  Since it's highly anticipated by critics, there is a chance that it will not live up to the expectations.

#TigerBloodIntern

(via Warming Glow)

He may have just been fired from "Two and a Half Men," but Charlie Sheen is in need of an intern for this summer.  Interested? Click here. The deadline is Friday, and the listing is below.  I wish I was lying, but perhaps there are opportunities to get positive feedback from Emilio Estevez.

"Do you have #TigerBlood? Are you all about #Winning? Can you #PlanBetter than anyone else? If so, we want you on #TeamSheen as our social media #TigerBloodIntern!

This unique internship opportunity will allow a hard-working, self-motivated, creative, resourceful and social media savvy individual to work closely with Charlie Sheen in leveraging his social network. The internship will focus on executing a social media strategy that will build on the success Charlie Sheen has attained in setting the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to reach one million followers on Twitter. The #TigerBloodIntern is expected to be proactive, monitor the day-to-day activities on the major social media platforms, prepare for exciting online projects and increase Charlie’s base of followers.

You will learn how to promote and develop the social media network of Hollywood’s most trending celebrity."

The Other Son

Tired of the media's around the clock coverage of Charlie Sheen's downward spiral?  Here's something a bit more levelheaded: Emilio Estevez.  See more over at FilmDrunk.

Three weeks until Paris.

A video of Paris made from nearly 2,000 time-lapse photos strung together.

Zombie fungus

Four new species of the Cordyceps fungus have been discovered.  This is the same fungus that was featured on "Planet Earth."  The one that directs an ant to leave its colony, anchor itself to a leaf before it dies, then serves as a place for the fungus to shoot out of its head and disperse spores into the air infecting other ants.

How long until it mutates into something that can control creatures larger than insects?  Creatures like... HUMANS!?

D-List

Monday the new cast of "Dancing with the Stars" was announced, and people who seem to care about the show are upset with the relative lack of star power.

One show premiering this summer that will have some familiar names is "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew." 

 

Heidi Montag (MTV’s “The Hills,” plastic surgery nut)

Jeremy Jackson (Baywatch)

Isaiah Rider (LA Lakers)

Michaele Salahi (White House crasher)

Amy Fisher (Joey Buttafuoco’s ex)

Bai Ling (From the worst episode of Lost, the episode about Jack’s tattoos)

Michael Lohan (Lindsey Lohan’s father)

Potential late addition to cast:  Booke Mueller (Charlie Sheen’s ex)

So good news DWTS fans! If you enjoy watching D-List celebrities screw up on the dance floor, you'll prob love watching D-List celebrities screw up their lives.

UPDATE: Bieber Fever

Never say never.


Earlier this year Justin Bieber cut his hair into a style more fitting for the man that he is.  He creepily saved those clippings and gifted them to Ellen Degenerous, who then took his locks and put them on eBay, pledging to donate the proceeds to an animal rescue organization.


A bunch of weirdos bid on the Bieber hair, and one lucky weirdo won that auction.  How much will they pay for the luscious strands that once grazed  Bieber's sweaty brow?  A mere $40,000.  The equivalent to a full year at most colleges, or a luxury car.

UPDATE: The Biebs tweeted last night: "im not shaving for a month so you all can see my mustache.. im pumped."  That'll be embarrassing.