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Doux News: October 19, 2014

This week: Assorted movie news -- It's the end of bundled cable TV as we know it -- Renewals, cancellations, and other stuff -- This week in casts -- This week in cats

Assorted movie news

[This section contributed by Samantha M. Quinn.]

In Marvel movie news, Robert Downey Jr. has been cast in Captain America 3. Rumors circulated around this news that this may signal the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of the famed Civil War storyline. This would change the world of Marvel movies even more than Winter Soldier did earlier this year.

Constantin Film is set to develop a Resident Evil TV series after the next (and final) installment of the movie franchise which comes out in 2016. No details are known yet, like cast or character line ups, but production might be starting next year.

Underworld Director Len Wiseman did an interview where he talked about some upcoming Underworld projects. First is a spin-off movie starring Theo James who previously appeared in the series as a vampire named David in Underworld: Awakening. Next would be another movie with series star Kate Beckinsale returning as Selene. Lastly, he threw out the possibility of an Underworld TV series. No further details are known right now.

Last and definitely not least, Warner Bros., not wanting to be outshined by the rather impressive announcement from Marvel, dropped a massive list of upcoming DC Comics movies. First there is Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice directed by Zack Snyder coming in 2016. Later that year a Suicide Squad movie directed by David Ayer will be released. No concrete word yet on who will be in the Suicide Squad movie, but rumors have Deadshot as the lead.

The following year (2017) we finally get a standalone Wonder Woman movie starring Gal Gadot. Then the first Justice League movie also directed by Zack Snyder who seems to be Warner Bros.' cruise ship director for the DC Cinematic universe for now.

Then in 2018 we will get some stand alone movies starring some of the other members of the Justice League. First is The Flash starring Ezra Miller, and then Aquaman starring Jason Momoa. 2019 starts with Shazam who hasn't been cast yet, but the Rock is supposedly playing his rival Black Atom. Also in 2019 is Justice League Part Two.

Finally in 2020, yes twenty freaking twenty, we get two more standalone movies for members of the Justice League, starting with Cyborg starring a relative unknown named Ray Fisher. Last is a possible reboot/rehash of Green Lantern which probably won't star Ryan Reynolds. Of course there are two big characters missing from this slate, Superman and Batman. Presumably we are going to get at least one film from each of them as well, but no news about those potential movies have been released as of yet.



It's the end of bundled cable TV as we know it

I hate cable packages. They invariably include channels like Esquire, The Golf Channel and Velocity (did you know there was a channel called Velocity?) while excluding something important I need, like AMC or BBC America, so I have to pay more. I've always wanted to just pick and choose my line-up, but no, the cable companies, like less enjoyable non-fiction vampires, have to suck the maximum amount of money possible out of their customers.

But the worm may be turning. Netflix streaming has become such a monster, with its convenience and huge library (imagine that) that it is bringing traditional cable to its lumpy electronic knees. Next year, HBO will be offering streaming service so that people can watch Game of Thrones (and other stuff, but I bet this is mostly about Game of Thrones) without subscribing to premium cable. About time. And CBS just did the same thing. Although there isn't anything on CBS that I actually watch. Okay, Person of Interest. And Big Bang Theory. But that's it.

Renewals, cancellations and other stuff

-- The Walking Dead most certainly isn't dead yet. The show hit a ratings high for its fifth season premiere. Which must be why it was already renewed for a sixth season -- except they renewed it before the premiere. Is AMC precognitive now?

-- American Horror Story was just renewed for a fifth season after it blew out the ratings, too. I'm still not watching that. Too creepy for me, says the woman who spent the last nine years reviewing Supernatural.

-- Gotham got a full season order. I've only seen the pilot and it didn't do much for me. It seems to be missing its raison d'etre, which would be Batman. Opinions? Comments?

-- The Lottery, Lifetime's sci fi no-one-can-get-pregnant series, has been canceled.

-- So in 1923, they filmed the blockbuster The Ten Commandments out in the middle of nowhere with a whole lot of sphinxes and stuff created especially for it, since there was no CGI back then. After the filming was completed, they just left it all behind. And now, a sphinx from that movie has been found. For some reason, this story just tickles me. Archaeology. Not just for millennia.

-- Continuum has still not been renewed or canceled. We've been waiting since early August. Come on, Showcase. Put us out of our misery, one way or another.

This week in casts

-- Neil Patrick Harris will be hosting the 2015 Oscars! Very cool. Doogie Houser, you've come a long way.

-- Our beloved Spy Dad Victor Garber will be guest starring on The Flash and Blue Bloods. Plus he'll be stopping by Sleepy Hollow sometime this season, almost certainly to reprise his role as Ichabod's flashback dad.

-- Orphan Black has begun shooting season three, and if you're interested, the cast and some details are given here. I'm going to skip over the usual "Tatiana Maslany was listed five times" joke. :)

-- William Hurt will star in an eight-part science fiction drama on AMC entitled Humans, airing in 2015. I'll be watching.

-- Alexandra Breckenridge will have a recurring role on The Walking Dead. Probably long enough to be killed off horribly. (Or not. I really have no idea.)

-- Kim Dickens from Deadwood just picked up a recurring role on season three of House of Cards.

-- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje from Lost (we used to call him Triple A), will be guesting on Game of Thrones.

This week in cats 

I'm not as good as Josie Kafka at finding great cat stories and videos, but there is this: someone stole a giant inflated cat that was minding its own business as a Halloween decoration on a lawn in Laredo, Texas. Who does that?




---
Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

10 comments:

  1. Triple-A will always be Adebisi from Oz to me. It's so awesome that he'll be on GoT. Can't next year come early?

    ReplyDelete
  2. A late (or early morning) addition -- Nick Brendon was arrested for intoxication, resisting arrest and obstruction. Sigh.

    http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/19/showbiz/nicholas-brendon-buffy-arrest/

    ReplyDelete
  3. "...this may signal the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of the famed Civil War storyline."

    God I hope not! If it does, I at least hope the core idea is better than "let's have Tony Stark act like a complete asshole because we need it for the plot" as it was in the comics.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Michal -

    I too share your worries about Civil War. However I have heard some speculation that it may build off of the fallout from the 'Age of Ultron' storyline and, if that is true, I hope for a really great movie where you can side with both viewpoints and where things aren't just black-and-white and explosions (though that does have its place).

    I'm personally worried about Gotham. It feels like a fanfiction. Or a dramatic parody. Like they're just throwing as many references to the well-known Batman stories and characters at us as soon as possible instead of letting it grow organically. I'll give it to the end of the first season, though, because sometimes it takes shows a little bit of time to get going. Look at Supernatural and where it is now!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Gotham is okay, but not more. It has a Batman-shaped hole in the middle.
    Young Penguin is stealing the show so far. Soo scary.
    So far the design of Gotham is the star of the show.
    Besides future Pengy,and Jada Pinkett-Smith's Fish Mooney.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gotham has been great, so far. I haven't been disappointed yet. Robin lord Taylor who plays Penguin is awesome. The acting is more even than many shows with few weak actors. (Sleepy Hollow and Blacklist and Once Upon a Time come to mind).

    That being said, thereis nothing on right now like Game of Thrones is or Breaking Bad, Dexter or Lost was.

    The Walking Dead, which was Ok when nothing else was on but I wouldn't rush to see it, started off with a bang. It was the scariest freaking thing I have seen in a long time. I even played it for my office manager while she was filing since she doesn't have cable. And it had the guy who plays Penguin.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Two great interviews with Robin Lord Taylor (Penguin, Gotham) about his recent Walking Dead appearance and almost being Todd in Breaking Bad.

    http://www.eonline.com/news/587787/we-made-gotham-s-robin-lord-taylor-do-a-scene-as-breaking-bad-s-creepy-todd-and-just-whoa?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sad about Nick Brendon. He’s been having drinking problems for a long time now.

    There’s a terrific Renew Continuum campaign here: http://www.continuumpodcast.com/renew-continuum-because/
    It achieves perfection by having a great score piece from Chronicles of Narnia running on the background.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Totally with you about Gotham, Billie. It looks lovely, but when I watched the pilot I realised that the only thing I like about the Batman universe is Batman, so what's the point?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Gotham started out strong but has been dropping every week in the ratings and the reviews. When Tom and Lorenzo pan a show, you KNOW it's gone downhill. I like the Penguin and Jada when she's given a chance. I like Donal Logue in certain parts but this is such a rehash for him that it's boring. Ben McKenzie is handsome but bland and the boy who plays the guy who will grow up to be Batman is just not working for me. The sets are amazing but otherwise I can pass.

    I WISH that Netflix streamed shows that I am interested in - TCM & French Tv but no luck for now. But I live in hope; the whole middle of my cable package is sports stuff which I never watch.

    ReplyDelete

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