Tagged: Chicago Tribune

Could a Vampire be the Next Doctor?

robert-pattinson-2-5555547Add one more name to the Doctor Who sweepstakes: Robert Pattinson. The star of this week’s Twilight feature film told the Chicago Tribune’s Rob Elder, “That would be quite cool. I didn’t know [David Tennant] he was leaving. The Doctor is great…yeah, maybe. I did grow up watching it. I loved it when I was a kid. In fact, I met one of them the other day, Sylvester McCoy [the seventh Doctor]. He’s one of the few people I’ve asked for an autograph.”

Pattinson has been under the harsh glare of the publicity spotlight and he’s clearly been uncomfortable with it, preferring to just be himself. He’s proven to be a deep-thinker, obsessing about his character and his motivations almost to the point of paralysis on the set.

He thought Edward’s choice to remain in high school, for example, “was one of the most difficult things to figure out. You think he’d stay in college, or be a street kid. It’d be way cooler. But I think the whole concept of it is: He’s like an addict. I think he wants to make his life really, really, really boring. He always does all his homework. He just doesn’t want to get into a situation where he’ll kill someone.”

In addition to acting, he’s also a musician with a song on the best-selling soundtrack album.

WW-CHICAGO: The Big Wiener

Perhaps the coolest event in Chicago at the start of this year’s Wizard World involved costumed characters and big cars, but it wasn’t at the convention center. It was downtown, right in front of the offices of the Chicago Tribune.

Yes, Li’l Oscar got a ticket.

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Illegal parking. $50.00 fine. Damn, how many quarters would it take to feed the meters?

Matt Smith of Chicago’s Streets and Sanitation Department told the Tribune they could have towed the big weiner.  "We have access to tow trucks that could have handled a Polish sausage, not just a hot dog." Ah, but would they tow an Italian Beef sandwich?

Thanks to the Tribune’s Charlie Meyerson for the lead, and thanks to Jamie Brockett for the joke. Photograph copyright 2007 Chicago Tribune, All Rights Reserved. With mustard and onions. The author is about to jump on an airplane and fly to Chicago for one of those fantastic Italian Beef sandwichs, and, oh, some sort of convention.

 

Is Sylar Spock?

10-zack-quinto-5274776The Chicago Tribune‘s Maureen Ryan reports Paramount is "close" to signing Zachary Quinto to play young Spock in the next Star Trek movie. Right now, Quinto is playing bad-guy Sylar on Heroes.

If this comes to pass, a few changes might be in store for one of the few successful teevee shows launched last season, as Sylar was expected to play a major role. Quinto’s Trek shooting schedule might disrupt those plans.

An announcement is "expected" to be made at the San Diego Comic Con.

Harry Potter and The Final Sacrifice!

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Well, it’s a book, now. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows went on sale at the crack of Saturday, and the world will never be the same. (Or something.) For this link round-up, I’ll corral the stories into groups, by theme, proving that there are only about a dozen potential Potter stories, each of which is being endlessly recapitulated around the world. (And thus I’ll refute Bishop Berkley.)

The last few “anticipation” stories from before the launch:

PopMatters wonders if all of the Potter-readers will become writers. (Because what the world needs is more wanna-be writers.)

Associated Content, writing on Friday, says the book is already on sale.

The Free Lance-Star announces that Fredericksburg shops are ready for the onslaught of young muggles.

The Dallas Star talked to people in line.

Savannah’s WSAV told eager readers they would have to wait just a little longer.

The Money Times reported on the leaks a few hours before Deathly Hallows’s release, which would also be several days after the story broke.

The Motley Fool also reported on the leaks just before the release. (I thought the financial press was supposed to be sleek, fast and up-to-date?)

The Philadelphia Inquirer had a quiz.

The Irish Times had the usual “we’re waiting, none-too-patiently” story. (more…)

“The Times It Is A-Changin'”

cafeconleche200-1202470If you think we’ve come a long way in butting out of people’s personal affairs, remember this: the last anti-miscegenation law prohibiting people of different races from marrying was repealed on November 7, 2000. Seven years later, an interracial couple breaks down one of the last barriers to a normal American family life: the newspaper family comic strip.

On April 2nd, the Creators Syndicate will be debuting Charlos Gary’s Cafe Con Leche. Gary, a 39 year old cartoonist living in Chicago, got his start with a strip called Working It Out. It was initially carried by the Chicago Tribune, but is now syndicated by Creators. He told Editor & Publisher "Cafe con Leche is about an interracial couple learning about each other’s cultural background. It’s loosely based on the first year of marriage to my wife Agustina, who is originally from Argentina."

This marks the second time a newspaper strip has been built around such a theme. Color Blind ran for one year, at the end of the 20th century. Let’s hope Cafe Con Leche enjoys a much longer run.