The Weekly Wrap-Up: November 28-December 5, 2008
Due to too much Thanksgiving turkey, Beaujolais, and fun with friends, the last Weekly Wrap-Up was MIA. But fear not; this week it returns with a vengeance, and since so much transpired from November 28-December 5, 2008, let’s get right to it!
Tis the season for familiar faces to make a reappearance, even if some of their projects are only in the rumor stage. Can you blame us for getting excited about the possibility of a new Buffy feature film? And if Whedon does pull it off, will Sarah Michelle Gellar be a part of it? Only time will tell.
Another three-name blast from the past, Tommy Lee Wallace, is set to begin shooting Hellversity this spring. Our original report mentioned that part of the filming would take place in India. Due to the unfortunate events in Mumbai recently, I question whether or not that’s still the case.
Barnabas Collins is a character that is nearer and dearer to my heart than most. Just about every day for five years I rushed home from school to see what he and the other residents of Collinwood were up to. You name it; “Dark Shadows” had it all: vampires, ghosts, witches, werewolves, and more. Its concept of parallel time still resonates with me to this day. Johnny Depp is pretty special, too, so the idea of him portraying Barnabas in a film version directed by Tim Burton (a distinct probability according to Collider.com) is music to this woman’s ears. Undoubtedly Jonathan Frid himself would approve! Adding even more credence to the production’s likelihood of getting off the ground is this tidbit sent to us by Uncle Mortimer at Macabre Mansion, whose source over at Dan Curtis Productions had this to say: “The project has never been dead ,and I’m not aware that anyone ever printed it was such. I know Entertainment Weekly started some people gossiping when they said it was put on “back burner” a few weeks ago, which is also not correct.” Honestly, I could talk day and night about “Dark Shadows”, but there are lots more stories to cover so I’ll just end with one casting suggestion for Mr. Burton: Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Hoffman. We all know she’s certain to be in it, and I definitely think she’d be better as Julia than Angelique or Maggie/Josette.
Two Oscar-winning leading ladies appear in outwardly similar genre projects that I heard about for the first time this week. First up is Hilary Swank in The Resident, one of a batch of new films from the revitalized Hammer studios. From early descriptions, it seems to be a fairly formulaic woman in peril story, but filming hasn’t even started yet, so a lot can happen between now and when production ends. Our other damsel in distress is Kim Basinger in While She Was Out. This one, however, is wrapped and debuts on DVD on December 16, 2008, so it’s too late for anyone to make any changes even if they want to.
Speaking of pairs, both Grudge 3 and Pulse 3 have hopped on the promotional bandwagon in anticipation of their looming direct-to-DVD releases. It’s bizarre to me that the third installments of the American remakes of two different Japanese films should be happening at the same time. But I do know I’m looking a lot more forward to seeing what Toby Wilkins does with Grudge 3 than meeting Justine, the 16-year-old who wreaks havoc in Pulse 3. Damn teenagers ruin everthing!
Platinum Dune’s Friday the 13th has been burning up the Net with the release of the latest poster and the full trailer for the remake. I don’t see anything in either that makes me doubt the confidence I’ve had in Nispel and Mears from the get-go. And despite having his talent overshadowed by his looks, I’m pretty confident that Padalecki is going to bring a likable, everyman quality to his character that will surprise a lot of people.
Meanwhile, Jared’s TV brother Jensen Ackles has found himself in a pretty hot property as well. Everyone scoffed when a 3D version of My Bloody Valentine was first announced, but it’s shaping up to be the must-see theatre “event” of the new year. If nothing else, it’s sure to be a fun 90 minutes with some good gore and a decent amount of T&A. And we finally got a good look at its new poster, too.
My head spins from the amount of stories we do involving Guillermo del Toro; no week is complete without at least one so of course we learned a few days ago of his desire to direct a stop-motion version of Roald Dahl’s The Witches. The book’s witches make up a well-connected organization whose aim is to wipe out children, which sounds totally up del Toro’s alley considering all the other marvelously dark fairy tales he has created.
Chanukah and Christmas (and my birthday) are just around the corner so make sure you browse Uncle Creepy’s Blu Christmas Buyer’s Guide for his comprehensive recommendations of what to buy and what to stay far, far away from. Even if you don’t have a Blu-ray player, it’s a good reminder of what DVD’s you’ve been planning to get but haven’t yet. Make a wish list at Amazon and send it to your friends and family!
There’s still a lot of ground to cover, so I’m just going to throw some words out for you to click and see where they lead:
Ha ha! So much for the fun and games. This time around the Woman’s Story of the Week is one of the saddest I’ve had to write: Rest in Peace Forrest J. Ackerman. There really isn’t much I can add about the man that hasn’t been said by others since news of his passing hit the Internet. People from all walks of life, fans of all genres of literature and film are in mourning. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone more beloved. RIP, Forry, and know that your legend lives on. To quote our own Mr. Dark: The world just got a lot less beautiful and freaky.
Until next time …
– The Woman In Black
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Debi Moore
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