The Theme Park Channel

Look closely and you may see a familiar face in there...



More small videos will be released leading up to the grand opening of the channel next year. I'll continue to keep you up to date.

So you want to write a movie, do ya?

That's a very good idea. I think you should. No, I really really do! Let me tell you how to keep yourself from going insane in the process though.


CLICK HERE for instructions on how NOT to lose your mind while attempting to be a screenwriter.


The following image is what came up when I googled the phrase, "crazy writer". Take it for what it's worth, and invest in a pipe as soon as humanly possible.

Boom Mic Cover or My Cat?

The Creature Lives!

This is some majorly thrilling theme park news.

Universal Studios Hollywood to Debut Live "Creature from the Black Lagoon"
Here are some details of the new live show.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1826415/universal_studios_hollywood_to_debut.html

Peter Jackson Committing to only 3D films?

I'll give you the link to the story, and then I'll translate. Because there's a lot of tech talk in there. It's worth the read though. http://marketsaw.blogspot.com/2009/06/3ality-digital-ceo-steve-schklair-talks.html

Here's the quote from that story though that's got all the nerds talking.

"SCHKLAIR: We had a crew on the east coast shooting what will be one of a few shoots for a concert. I can't say who, but there's another concert film in the works. And I think I told you we were recently down in New Zealand with Peter Jackson, who is committing to shooting his films in 3D, and will be working with our rigs and technology to do so. I think this is big news for the industry because we are all pushing to get theaters built. Some theater owners are on the fence, asking, "If we do jump [into 3D], is there enough content?" And having guys like Peter Jackson jump in and say things like "I'll be making all my movies in 3D" is a great vote of confidence for the theater owners who are thinking about making the investment."

Why? Because this means that The Hobbit will more than likely be in 3D. This means more theaters will adapt their screens for the technology, moving 3D from cool 1950's fad into IMAX territory. Still a novelty, but something we can expect to see more often. 

30 ROCK vs. The Muppets

My friend Jen sent THIS to me today, and it was too good not to share.

Futurama Returns. Again!

This is GREAT news. I love this show so much and I'm THRILLED that it's coming back, even though I was less than pleased with some of the most recent new material. Any Futurama is good Futurama if you ask me.

HERE is the report from Variety.

In fact, this article I wrote in 2007 the first time Futurama came back kind of covers my feelings about the show. (Apparently I was opposed to paragraphs back then...)

I can't say enough about this show, it's witty, FULL of geek culture, hilarious, and had important guest stars such as Bea Arthur, and the ENTIRE cast of Star Trek. (Except James Doohan. They explained his absence in the show by filling his spot with a character named, "Welshie". He's the one getting electrocuted at the beginning of the clip.) Anyway, Bea's clip is first, then Trek's.

Guess Who Will Be Playing Judy Garland?

According this THIS report, it's Anne Hathaway. I think she's a great choice, however, I would've liked to see Zooey Deschanel in at least one of the Garland roles, be it stage or screen. It does seem like a bit of a monopoly to give Anne both cracks at it. But I do think she'll do a wonderful job.

Speaking of Zooey Deschanel, where is that girl? I haven't seen her since, "Yes Man". She has such an incredible singing voice. I'd love to see her in a musical.

You're too good for this LDP

Loud Diamond Phillips is currently appearing on the reality show, "I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here". It's nice and all, because hey, it's for charity. But I honestly think LDP is more than a head above the rest of his castmates. I love him. He doesn't deserve this.

Please NBC, don't make me watch Ritchie Valens drink his own urine or get into petty squabbles with a faded rock star. Or both. IS NOTHING SACRED?!

I blame "Bats". I don't need a rationale. It's my blog.

This Week in Astronomy Geek

Contact REALLY got me into astronomy back in high school. I never moved past amateur status. But that and a subscription to Sky and Telescope magazine sure did keep me out of a lot of trouble. In fact, astronomy was quite the romantic pop culture hobby in the nineties. Remember Roxeanne? Space Camp? All that star talk in Only You?

Dad helped me find constellations in the night sky. Living in the middle of four Indiana cornfields didn't just mean the sweet smell of hay in the fall and plenty of fireflies in the summer, it also meant fantastic dark skies. Ideal for stargazing.

He took me to a handful of observatories growing up. I'll never forget seeing Saturn's rings through a telescope on the Butler campus. It felt too beautiful and surreal to be true. I might as well have been looking at this...

Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered when I was five. It wasn't just tv in our house. It was a ritual. My brother-in-law gifted me a telescope. I spent countless freezing January nights on our back porch trying to memorize every crater on the moon by its proper name. (Hullo again, Sea of Tranquility.)

When I saw this video today, it immediately took me back to that. All of that. I'm so thankful.

As a bonus, here's a link to some interesting probe footage from NASA a few years ago. 

Disney's The Princess and the Frog and Rapunzel

We saw this trailer yesterday when we went to see, "UP". It looks phenomenal. I'm thrilled to see Disney stepping into 2D animation again! I remember being there as a kid and actually getting to watch them work on, "Aladdin". That was when a good deal of the animation department was still actually housed in what was then, "Disney's MGM Studios" and what is now, "Disney's Hollywood Studios". We can only hope for a return to age of hand-drawn animation.



Although, didn't it used to be called, "The Frog Princess"? What happened to that title? I like the new one better, I was just curious.

After that, it looks like we'll get this.

Though I don't know if it's 2D or Pixar-style. I'm crossing my fingers for 2D. There have been a lot of changes to this project so far...word on the net is that it used to be called, "Rapunzel: Unbraided" and if you google it you can find a lot of concept art.

It'll be fun to have these to look forward to!

Conan and JAWS

A.) Conan finally came back on the air last night, and thank goodness. Hilarity ensued and I liked everything from the new set to Andy Richter being present. It all works for me. His tram tour of Universal Studios (the same lot where he films the Tonight Show) was the best part. Then again, his video segments have always been his strength. I will literally change my operating schedule to now include the Tonight Show every night as long as I can keep it up. Bon Voyage, Conan! I've decided to embed the entire first episode just in case you missed it. It's underneath point B.

B.) There's a new JAWS documentary coming out.

http://www.fivesprockets.com/resources/blog/shark-still-working