Author: Matt Landsman

See How Bane’s Mask Might Have Looked In The Dark Knight Rises!

by Matt Landsman

Images have surfaced from the new Complete Screenplays of The Dark Knight Trilogy book. In addition to the scripts of all three films, the book also contains storyboards with concept art. This piece of concept art from the opening plane hijacking sequence shows us how Bane might have looked in The Dark Knight Rises.


What do you think? Better or worse than the final film?

 

The Geekscape Movie Review – Prometheus

by Matt Landsman

In the 1979 Ridley Scott classic, Alien, the terrors were dark, mysterious and rarely seen.  This isn’t the case at all in Prometheus, where the origin of the titular creature in Alien is explained, and new, even larger questions about humanity are raised.  I’m glad that it was Scott who chose to revisit his own work rather than another director. Prometheus is not prequel so much as it’s a further exploration of the same universe, but little did we know just how vast this universe actually was. The film is an anxious, relentless, cerebral horror film.  And make no mistake, it’s more horrifying than any of the previous installments in the franchise.

In the haunting opening images, a pearly white, perfectly-muscled tall humanoid called an “engineer” (Space Jockeys if you want to go by Alien terms) is dropped off by a ship and abandoned on a planet where he must carry out a sacrificial deed.  Flash forward quite a long time to where explorer scientists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and her boyfriend Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) have discovered ancient cave drawings of early humans communicating with beings from the stars.  Aging tycoon Peter Weyland (a heavily made-up Guy Pearce) commissions Shaw and Holloway to lead a mission to a mysterious planet which has been mapped out in the cave drawings in an attempt to meet whoever made man kind and answer some of life’s essential questions.

In the two years it takes to arrive on the alien world, the robot David (Michael Fassbender) tends to the ship and studies the humans in a state of stasis. He takes it all in and he’s amused by human-kind.  From the second he first appears on screen to the end of the film, David steals the entire movie.  Fassbender’s performance has a curious gravity that makes him the most likeable character, regardless of his moral and emotional ambiguity.

Once on the planet, Holloway is quick to point out ant-hill like structures saying that “God doesn’t use straight lines.”  But weren’t they going there to find god in the first place? Anyway, the team of scientists and David don helmets and head into the ant-hill like cavernous structure.  The things they find inside lead them to evidence about the origins of mankind, but manage to raise even larger existential questions as the crew members are horrifically picked off one by one.

Prometheus is more grotesque any in the “series” to date (and it being part of said series is debatable).  In tone, it’s most comparable to Alien but a lot more physically grounded and a lot less grounded philosophically.  It’s open to some big interpretations. Aliens turned out to be more of a war/action film, and it’s true that there are elements of that thrown into the mix here too and Alien 3 and 4 aren’t even worth talking about.  The images in the film are meant to be graphic and shocking, to create terrifying iconography that would stay with the viewer to leave the same impression that you would get experiencing “God’ close up for the first time yourself.  What would you say to him? What would you expect him to tell you?

There are some ties to Alien, notably at the end (as to be expected) but the movie feels more like a spinoff within the same universe than a sequel.  This works for me because it shows just how vast this universe can be.  While the technology at the heart of the film and biomechanics are largely fantasized, they feel very realistic, and the film offers a very logical idea as to where we came from.  This is where the movie really shines for me.  Without ever giving a concrete answer, it guides us toward the direction of one viewpoint while still leaving the basic question of man’s identity in the scheme of things open-ended.

One of the most beautiful aspects of the film is that Elizabeth Shaw seeks to meet those who created her and ask them why.  Holloway tells David that the humans made him because “they could” to which David tells him that’s an incredibly disappointing answer. Every base is covered from a logical standpoint.  This is a thinking man’s movie for sure even though it still has the visual trappings and mild sense of humor of a big action blockbuster.  Prometheus is a winner in my book, which is a big sigh of relief since I was greatly anticipating it.  Not only does it serve as a fitting prequel to Alien which is just about as good as the original, but it broadens the horizons, makes the viewer feel small and leaves them asking all the right questions.  Don’t miss this one.

The trailer for Skyrim: Dawnguard is here!

by Matt Landsman

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not much of a gamer…but Skyrim is no ordinary game. It’s quite possibly the best game I’ve ever played in my life.  Like many people though, I ran out of things to do months ago and I’ve been eager to revisit the incredibly realized fictional universe. Bethesda has been hinting at downloadable content for some time, and now the trailer for Dawnguard is finally here.  No release date has been set yet, but Dawnguard has been confirmed for a summer release.

Please Skyrim… come and take away every spare moment of my free time. I’m already growing out my Nord beard in anticipation.

The New Dark Knight Rises Poster… And Our Hearts Sink

by Matt Landsman

The new poster for The Dark Knight Rises is here and it’s…underwhelming?

Within five minutes of the release of the poster by WB, the internet has collectively flown into outrage over the lazy design of the new poster utilizing a pre-existing image of  batman against a recolored version of the first teaser poster. Amateur photoshop work for sure, and many fans have called WB’s marketing into question.

What do you guys think of this poster? Love it? Hate it? Framing it on your wall? Share your opinions with Geekscape!

 

Watch The Trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson’s Next Masterpiece: “The Master”

by Matt Landsman

It’s trailer day apparently between this and Skyfall. You might be surprised to be seeing a trailer for a cinematic and profound film (and dare I say pretentious) movie such as The Master appearing on Geekscape. But here at Geekscape, we honor all types of geeks, from video games to film fanboys.  As a film fanboy, I think this movie looks stellar. You might remember Paul Thomas Anderson as the guy who did a little movie called There Will Be Blood in 2007. Oh… and Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, Boogie Nights and Hard Eight.

Can we just give him some Oscar nominations now?

“Thank You, Dan Harmon” – An Open Letter About Dan Harmon’s Firing

by Matt Landsman

Last night in a press release from TV Guide, it was revealed that Dan Harmon would be replaced as the showrunner of Community for season 4 on NBC. Needless to say the fandom was devastated. Harmon wrote a poignant response on his tumblr last night, which made fans feel even sadder about the news and about his unjust treatment at the hands of Sony.

To try and summarize my emotions right now with a gif would be pointless.  I was scrolling through tumblr and twitter and I saw a few posts that said “why should we care if Harmon is no longer the showrunner?”  I’m going to attempt to try and put it into words, but forgive me if I fail, because the genius of this man is almost impossible to explain without experiencing it.

When I started watching Community, it grew on me exponentially each week.  It was doing things that no other show on TV was attempting to do.  I remember I started watching the show because I had been a fan of Donald Glover from his Derrick Comedy skits on youtube, but I soon discovered that Glover was just one of nine absolutely amazing cast members. Then I realized that the heart and center of the show was actually a man from named Dan Harmon, who’s twitter feed was one of the most amusing things I’d ever read. Most TV writers are faceless. You see the names at the beginning of an episode and don’t think twice about it.  TV is a disposable, lighthearted medium incapable of carrying the same weight as movies. Not so with Community.  Community is different.  It had heart.  It had a soul. That soul is and was, Dan Harmon.

When I went to Los Angeles, I had already been a fan of Harmon’s work, so naturally when I saw a tweet advertising “Harmontown” at Meltdown Comics on Sunset Boulevard, I bought tickets, intrigued.  Harmontown was a small unassuming room in the back of the comic store with folding chairs facing a large blue flag of Harmon (my user pic here on tumblr) stuck to the wall next to a podium.  After a few minutes of waiting, Jeff B Davis of Whose Line is it Anyway? came out to introduce his close friend to the stage.  And then out came Dan Harmon himself to a burst of applause, the man who had created my favorite TV show of all time.  Nothing could have prepared me for the next hour and a half.

Dan took the mic and the room went silent. He OWNED the entire galaxy in those moments. He shared stories of his life, his upbringing, his dating life and how he came to be the writer he is today.  Harmon kept joking that we weren’t getting our money’s worth (a meager $10) hearing him speak and took out a book of his personal rants from his early 20’s and began to read them aloud.

I felt an admiration that I’d never felt for anyone before as Dan shared his wisdom in the back of that comic store. He was transcendent. He had an aura. He was more than a TV writer. He was speaking everything I’d always thought about society but had been too afraid to say aloud.  He talked about feeling lonely. He talked about his self-doubts. He had been there too. Everything that I’d felt my whole life, quite possibly the greatest mind of our time had felt too, and it was comforting. Without trying to sound too creepy, I felt like he was similar to me, except infinitely more intelligent and successful. When the show ended, I nervously approached Dan.

After getting a picture with me, Dan noticed my shirt (one of the daily T shirts from Teefury), depicting various things from Greendale. He told me it was awesome and took a picture of it on his phone. The next morning he tweeted the picture. I’d never truly been starstruck in my life. I babbled incoherently about my favorite episodes of the show as Dan smiled and nodded. I’m sure he’d heard it all before.

For the next four months, I continued to regularly attend Harmontown. At this point in my life, I still had no idea what I wanted to do for a living when I graduated college.  The more I heard Dan speak, the more it became clear to me.  Then one day it all clicked.

At Harmontown one night Dan talked about how he used to lay in bed and stare at a stain on his wall that looked like a palm tree growing up and dream of moving to Los Angeles.  Then he expressed the gratitude and disbelief he felt driving down Hollywood Boulevard every day for having finally made it that far. At that moment my purpose in life was clear. I wanted to write for television, like Dan Harmon. I knew I’d never make something as good as Community, but I’ll be damned if I’ll never try.

I’ve never been inspired by someone the way I was by Dan Harmon. I took an interest in his career outside of Community ranging from The Sarah Silverman Program to his website, Channel101, for which I recently produced a comedy pilot with a fellow super fan of Harmon’s work.  I’ve never liked someone enough to call them a hero or believed in shallow celebrity worship, but I truly believe Dan the most creative person alive. You might think I’m exaggerating, and I know Dan doesn’t like to toot his own horn, so I hope that if he saw this he wouldn’t think I was weird for writing it.

The other day I graduated college with the Greendale flag on my mortarboard as I walked to receive my diploma. Now I’m about to move to Los Angeles permanently, armed only with some scripts to try and get started as a writer for television. It’s a hard road ahead, but as long as Dan’s work is out there to keep me motivated, I believe that we can keep working to make TV better. Dan turned TV into high art. He made a sitcom my favorite thing in the world. I know many people feel the same.

This is why Community won’t be the same without Dan Harmon. It makes me sick to think that creativity and genius like his aren’t appreciated by everyone in this world and that Community’s worth is weighed out in gold by greedy corporate execs who want the show to be more accessible. I’m starting to accept that the general public just might not be very smart, and it’s depressing to think that great art goes unappreciated…but we appreciate it. And we appreciate it so much, that it makes up for all the careless, talentless people who don’t. And this is why you should be upset that Dans leaving, but also happy and grateful for everything he’s done up to this point. I’ll be watching any show he works on in the future, starting with Rick and Morty, his new pilot coming to Adult Swim. “Dan Harmon is a genius and I’ll die defending his vision” is a figure of speech on tumblr, but I really do mean that.

I’ve thought about the day when I return to Harmontown to get a chance to tell Dan these things. Above all else, I want the chance to thank him. I want to thank him for not letting us accept mediocrity for entertainment.  I want to thank him for single-handedly changing the course of my direction in life. Most of all I want to thank him for inspiring me more than anyone ever has and for being my hero.

Anyway I know this is scary-long so I’ll wrap it up here even though I could probably go on all day. At Harmontown they gave away these buttons of Dan’s flag. It’s small and probably worthless, but right now I’m wearing it alone in my house, and for one of the first times in my life I actually feel proud of myself.

Thank you Dan.
#sixseasonsandamovie

Watch The Final Trailer For The Dark Knight Rises In Full HD!

by Matt Landsman

The new trailer has just dropped for The Dark Knight Rises and wow…it’s awesome!

The Dark Knight Rises starring Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway and Michael Caine opens in the US July 20th 2012.

What Really Are Community’s Renewal Chances And Its Impact On The Future of TV?

by Matt Landsman

After the largest online push for a show in history, Community returned to its awkward 8 PM timeslot on March 15th.  Fans (myself included) have since been anxiously waiting for May when NBC will make its decisions regarding the show’s renewal or cancellation.  Producer Neil Goldman remained optimistic at Paley Fest 2012 saying that the chances of renewal were about 70%.  In a press release issued this week, NBC announced that the final three episodes of Community’s third season will all air on one night, May 17th.

While it was announced a couple weeks back that the Community season finale would be an hour long, the reason for the conclusion now being 90 minutes is so that it correlates with “Sweeps Week.”  This is when NBC announces all of the renewals and cancellations–though we’ll actually already know by May 14th.

Since it’s return from hiatus, Community has had consistently fantastic episodes, from a Ken Burns documentary parody to the most recently a Law and Order parody in which one of the fan-favorite side characters of the show was killed off (at request of the actor).  Dan Harmon (the genius series creator) has often joked about how the show is inaccessible for the average television viewer and teased that an episode which aired last week was quite possibly the least accessible episode they’d ever done.  And yet the episode which took place almost entirely in Abed’s “Dreamatorium” (his playground for mental simulations) knocked it out of the park and became an instant favorite among critics and fans alike.

The ratings have been strong in the past few weeks, especially for NBC ratings, which are held to slightly lower standards than other networks and tend to perform relatively poorly.  On it’s first three weeks back on the air, Community out-performed American Idol and all of the other NBC shows in the 18-35 demographic.  Thanks to some great twitter giveaway contests, the show has been trending worldwide for the past six weeks in a row.  The support is definitely there and the fans have been behind the show every step of the way.

“The fans, they’re everything that we always hoped and dreamed they would be. They’re the best. They are so resourceful and organized and creative.” Said Community star Gillian Jacobs in a recent interview on IGN about the hiatus.  “It makes you want to keep fighting when you see how hard they’re fighting to keep the show on the air.”

The legacy that Community fans want the show to have is one of a show that struggled in the ratings, but it prevailed thanks to an outpouring of support.  “Communies” are confident that their show won’t go the way of Arrested Development or Freaks and Geeks, two other cult favorite shows that were canceled prematurely.  Arrested Development is actually coming back next year as well with ten all new episodes to debut simultaneously on Netflix so maybe this age of the the web and on demand allows shows not only to be rallied for but also resuscitated.

If all goes well, Community will get its #Sixseasonsandamovie.  Joel McHale hinted at future seasons in a recent interview saying “There’s graduate school, post-graduate, teaching,” he hinted. “We could slow down time.”  At the present normal running time though, NBC has announced no plans to reverse their decision regarding The Cape. I think we’re all okay with that one.

Sabrina The Teenage Witch Being Made Into a Live-Action Superhero Film

by Matt Landsman

It’s April 12th and we’re still posting April Fools Jokes? Actually we aren’t.  Deadline has reported that Sony Pictures is “re-imagining” the classic Archie Comics title with some of the original publishers of the comic as the producers.  The site says about the movie ” it will be an origin story in the vein of Spider-Man, about a young girl coming to terms with her remarkable powers.”

Mark Walters is in line to direct the project, scheduling permitting. Casting is sure to be an interesting process that we’ll want to keep an eye on for this project, but as of now, relatively few details have been released from Sony. Stay tuned for further updates when we attempt to answer the pivotal question, “why bother?”

Game of Thrones Gets Renewed For A Third Season

by Matt Landsman

It should come as no shock to anyone that HBO has renewed Game of Thrones for a third season, which will follow the plot of the third book in George R. R. Martin’s epic series, A Storm of Swords.  Though the second season is only 2 weeks in, the ratings speak for themselves with a solid 8.3 million viewers.  With a total of 7 books in the series, (two of which are not yet published), Game of Thrones will continue to be a stable presence on HBO’s Sunday night block for years to come.

Before the third season was even greenlit, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss started scouting locations with the assumption the show would get picked up.  Michael Lombardo, the president of HBO’s programming requested advanced planning when it comes to the show due to how involved the filming could be. “I’ve learned that on ‘Game of Thrones’ I need to hear earlier on what the challenges are for seasons we have yet to visit” Lombardo said in a March interview.

Fan favorite actor Peter Dinklage who won an emmy for his performance as Tyrion Lannister in the first season of the show talked about some of the challenges of the series as well in a recent LA Times interview. “There’s so much pressure to, in terms of this genre, make it bigger. There’s all this talk about, ‘We want more battles!’ and there’s so many fan sites.” Dinklage said.

If you missed the first two episodes of this season’s Game of Thrones be sure to check them out on HBO GO which is now available to XBOX Live subscribers!

Ridley Scott Discusses PG-13 Rating for Prometheus, Teases at Story

by Matt Landsman

Unless you’ve been in a state of hibernation floating around in space for the past few months, you’ve probably heard of Prometheus, the upcoming prequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi classic, Alien.  While the original alien and the sequel directed by James Cameron were both hard-R’s, in a recent interview with Empire magazine, Ridley Scott seemed to be leaning toward a PG-13 rating.  Scott also spoke on how Prometheus functions as a standalone film in addition to being a prequel, and what sort of surprises fans of the original are in store for.

Since Prometheus has yet to be shown to the MPAA, Scott seemed to hint that the film will be more successful as a PG-13, and nothing that fans love about the tone of the series will be lost.

“Right now I don’t know where we are. The question is, do you go for the PG-13, or do you go for what it should be, which is R? Financially it makes quite a difference, or the risk makes quite a difference, and yet you also have to apply the question — if you soften it, will you financially suffer? As opposed to just going for the throat and gambling. Essentially, it’s kinda R. The little bastards will still get in anyway, so what’s the difference? It’s not just about blood, it’s about ideas that are very stressful. I’m not an idiot, but I’ll do everything I can to get the most aggressive film I can.”

Scott also touched on the mystery at the center of the film—who is the Space Jockey? Fans of the original all clearly recall the giant alien pilot carcass, but evidence in the latest trailer suggests that really all we saw of the creature was its outer space suit. “I always wondered when they did [Aliens] 2, 3 and 4 why they hadn’t touched upon that, instead of evolving into some other fantastic story. They missed the biggest question of them all: who’s the big guy? And where were they going? And with what? Why that cargo? There’s all kinds of questions.”

Prometheus is looking to be one of the most promising movies of the summer, having already delivered two sleek, stylish trailers and a slew of virals for “The Weyland Corporation.”  Regardless of whether or not the movie is a PG-13, I think it will end up appropriately chilling and perfectly match the tone of the original Alien thanks to Scott’s direction.  The film opens June 1st on regular theaters and IMAX and stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron and Logan Marshall-Green.  Check out the trailer below:

Chloë Moretz Offered Lead in Remake of DePalma’s 1976 Horror Film “Carrie” For MGM!

by Matt Landsman

It was announced online today that MGM and Screen Gems have offered the titular role in their remake of the classic Brian DePalma horror film Carrie to 15-year-old actress Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass, Hugo). The retelling of the 1974 Stephen King novel being directed by Kimberly Peirce (Stop-Loss, Boys Don’t Cry) is slated for a late 2013 release-date.  A couple months back when the film was first announced, it was revealed that Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who helped rewrite the best-selling Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark Broadway musical, had penned the new adaptation.  Aguirre-Sacasa is said to have written a version that’s more faithful to the original novel and more grounded than the original film.

Carrie is about a girl in high school who’s regularly bullied by her classmates and her mother.  Unbeknownst to them however, Carrie possesses dangerous telepathic powers.  Just when it seems like her life is starting to turn around as she stands on stage with her hot date at prom, she falls victim to a mean-spirited prank designed by her peers. In an iconic and chilling scene, Carrie unleashes her psychic rage upon the high school prom.

We know thanks to Kick-Ass and Let Me In (the American retelling of Let The Right One In) that Moretz has the acting chops to pull off the role. She’s proved that she’s comfortable with a wide range of roles ranging from sweet and innocent to violent and dangerous. When (and if) she officially signs on, the studio will turn its attention to casting the roles of Carrie’s prom date and her mother.

Check out the trailer for the original 1976 Carrie, Directed by Brian DePalma.

Robert Rodriguez filming Sin City 2 and Machete Kills This Year

by Matt Landsman

After what feels like seven years of waiting…oh wait, it was actually seven years of waiting–Sin City 2 is finally headed into production. Robert Rodriguez announced at at the SXSW Interactive Festival that the much-anticipated sequel to his Frank Miller Noir adaptation will be “going into production” this summer.  As exciting as this is, I’ll take it with a grain of salt until we see anything concrete, because it’s been “in production” for quite some time now.  While it’s unknown who will return for the sequel, Rodriguez said the casting will be “of the same caliber and ecclecticism” as the first film’s.  Years ago it was teased at that the popular graphic novel Hell and Back would be the centerpiece story of Sin City 2.

The sequel to the 2010 Grindhouse-spinoff Machete, aptly named Machete Kills will also start shooting in April.  Danny Trejo will undoubtedly reprise his role as the titular character, though other casting details are unknown at this point.  We can only hope Michelle Rodriguez signs on for the sequel.

For the full story, and developments on Rodriguez’s animation company, Quickdraw Animation which is working on two films currently, check out The Hollywood Reporter’s Risky Business Blog. 

Robert Rodriguez is all set to make Machete Kills and Sin City 2

Geekscape Movie Review: 21 Jump Street

by Matt Landsman

21 Jump Street doesn’t feel like a recent comedy.  This isn’t just because it’s based on a TV series, but more importantly because it reminds me of the raunchy buddy comedies of years past…a sub-genre that kind of died along with Superbad.  Since that “golden era” we’ve been subjected to the likes of Hall Pass and She’s Out of my League along with countless others.  I’m pleased to say that 21 Jump Street provided me with more laughs than any movie I’ve seen since Jackass 3D and manages to have more universal appeal.  It’s not family friendly, but that’s the point…but everyone over the age of 15 with a slightly twisted sense of humor will come out of the theater beaming.

Jonah Hill is back in the sort of role he shines in as Schmidt, a “not-so-slim-shady” nerd who was picked on in high school by a jock named Jenko (Channing Tatum).  Flash forward a few years and Jenko and Schmidt have become fast friends at Police Academy.  Jenko is, by all accounts, an idiot, so he feeds off of Schmidt’s test-taking skills.  Eventually they graduate the academy and are put on duty patrolling a park on bicycles.  After managing to tackle a drug-dealing perp, they botch the arrest by failing to read the perp his rights.  The two would-be cops are sent to an experimental program located in a church at 21 Jump Street by none other than Parks and Recreation’s Ron Swanson himself (Nick Offerman) where they’re under the jurisdiction of Ice Cube as an intentionally stereotypical black police captain.  Captain Ice Cube assigns Schmidt and Jenko to go undercover as teenagers to prevent the spread of a new super drug, which has killed a teen at a local high school.

When they arrive for the first day of school, the duo of narcs realize times have changed since they were in school (there’s a funny bit where they’re identifying cliques and aren’t sure what to call hipsters).  After an altercation on the first day that lands them in the principal’s office, their fake identities and class schedules are accidentally reversed.  For Schmidt, this is the chance to be cool and popular he never had in high school.  For Jenko, this is a demeaning struggle with chemistry class.  As they go about finding leads on the drugs in their separate ways, Schmidt develops feelings for a girl named Molly (Brie Larson), who he could have never seen himself with back when he was actually in high school.

The film manages to avoid most clichés of action and buddy-comedy cop movies.  It acknowledges and teases at them, (such as shooting a gas tank) but it doesn’t fall into them (the gas tank doesn’t explode).  The real star of the show here is Channing Tatum, who I didn’t know was much of an actor at all prior to his role in this.  Turns out, he’s great in a comedic role here, and manages to outshine his comic-veteran screen partner.  There’s something priceless about his genuinely frustrated reactions to situations his character’s not smart enough to handle.  The supporting cast is great too ranging from Ellie Kemper and Rob Riggle to Johnny Depp.

It certainly entertains an interesting concept: going back to high school, but knowing what you know now, and being more socially aware.  While it devolves into hijinx from time to time, that’s necessary for a movie like this.  I’d argue that it got a little too over the top in the final twenty minutes of the film but there’s some moments that are pure gold.  The chemistry between the characters is believable and even at times…relatable.  One of my favorite moments hands down involves Schmidt and Jenko planning a party.  “But how will we get alcohol without an ID?” Channing Tatum asks sadly (since they’re pretending to be high school students).  They turn to each other and laugh and the audience laughs with them.

In the interest of preserving some of the films best surprises, I’ll taper myself off here.  The trailer methodically walks you through the first fifteen minutes of the film in sequential order, but thankfully spares the viewer the best, and most vulgar moments.  It’s rare that you can call a comedy a legitimately good movie, but thankfully 21 Jump Street is a return to true hilarity without the cheapness.

First Photo From Disney’s The Lone Ranger Hits The Web

by Matt Landsman

Thinking about Disney’s The Lone Ranger, the term “Development Hell” comes to mind.  Producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean) tweeted this photo this morning from the film.  After some budget cuts, the film is finally on schedule and is slated for release May 31st, 2013 directed by Gore Verbinski. From the bird on his head to the warpaint, one can only wonder if Johnny Depp will be channeling The Crow.  Who’s excited for The Lone Ranger?

The first image of Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer in The Lone Ranger

Is An Outdated Ratings System Hurting Our Fan-Favorite Shows?

by Matt Landsman

In the wake of the most expensive network show of all time, Terra Nova, being canceled for unspecified reasons, television fans are starting to realize that without the proper support their favorite shows aren’t safe. Fans of NBC’s critically acclaimed Community entered their darkest timeline when the spring TV schedule was posted online last November and the hit comedy was strangely absent. After ten brilliant episodes in the fall were met with dismal ratings, Community was put on hiatus until show-runner/creator Dan Harmon announced via twitter the return date of March 15th.

While I’m thankful my favorite show will be coming back (as we all knew it would), its future hangs in the balance, as in May the ultimate decision regarding a 4th season will be made by NBC higher-ups. It’s hard to imagine that a show with such a passionate fanbase could turn such low numbers.  Sadly, TV still runs functions on the archaic system of the Nielsen ratings.

What Community’s Alison Brie thinks of the Nielsen ratings system

In an ideal world, the only channels on television you’d be paying for would be the ones that you know you’re going to watch. Currently, most cable subscribers pay nearly 200 dollars on average to get a cable package, which includes not only the most basic low numbered channels, but specialty channels as well such as FX and AMC. Television connoisseurs who follow such shows as The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, and HBO’s programming would probably be more than happy to give up extraneous channels (like Spike TV) and save money for only those which they plan to be watching on a regular basis.

The problem begins with the giant corporations such as Comcast, which doesn’t want to lose money on its cable packages.  As consistently well-received shows such as Community fall in the ratings to abysmally low numbers, we’re seeing a trend where ratings themselves mean less and less as networks try new distribution tactics.  Now the only ratings counted come from households with a Nielsen ratings box or a program recording service, so the ratings don’t even reflect the general public’s viewership.

In terms of how low a show’s numbers can get before actual cancellation, it’s worth having a look at the algorithm presented on tvbythenumbers.com, a site maintained by Bill Gorman.  Applying simple graphics to shows currently on television and going by Nielsen ratings alone i.e. registered viewership in millions, the index predicts which shows will get renewed and which will get canceled each year.  In December, when its last episodes aired, Community was hanging within the balance at a .83 on the cancel index, which meant that it was three-tenths of a point away from the “death” region of the cancel-meter.  When I tweeted Gorman about his personal thoughts on the matter he said “Regardless of its ratings this season, I figure Community gets renewed, my guess is the producers will give it away for season 4.”

Other shows have not been as lucky as Community, such as the recently canceled (and short-lived) Free Agents on NBC.  Hank Azaria, the star of the show as well as his friends begged fans on twitter to watch the show “because it might be their last chance to do so.”  It hung in the limbo of ratings going from a 2.1 to a 1.0 in under a month before cancellation respectively going from 6 million viewers to 3.

Bill Lawrence, the show-runner of ABC’s Cougar Town frequently bemoans the ratings on his twitter page under the handle VDoozer. Despite a tour of the country reaching out to the fans of the show with viewing parties, Cougar Town’s ratings are still on the low end.  Lawrence is hopeful that Cougar Town will come back up when it doesn’t have Fox’s American Idol to compete with on Tuesday night’s but he still encourages fans to spread the word about the show via twitter. “To everyone offering “to help” Don’t neglect your families or lives. Spend 22 hrs a day, TOPS, spreading word.” He joke-tweeted.

The recently cancelled and short-lived Terra Nova

There are still ways that we can show our support as fans though, by voting in online polls and promoting the shows we love much as possible telling our friends to tune in.  This is the best way of gauging interest in a show, and networks pay close attention to social media and promote shows heavily in that area.  When the FX Show Terriers was canceled last year, many signed a petition to bring it back (though this attempt has so far been unsuccessful). Until there’s a new system invented for working out ratings in a more fair and accurate sense that truly reflects the demand for a show, the most we can do is simply go crazy for our favorite programs and strive to be as feverish and rabid as all Chuck’s fans. It even worked for Arrested Development, the cultist show of all time, which is currently in pre-production of a fourth season and a movie.  Whether Community will get its #Sixseasonsandamovie remains to be seen.