Harlan Ellison, once called “the 20th century Lewis Carroll” by the Los Angeles Times, invites you to explore his 56-year career in four new books.
These four volumes, designed to bring Ellison’s writing to a new generation of readers while collecting rare works for his long-time fans, gather classic stories, entertaining essays, unpublished teleplays, and the author’s never-before-reprinted second novel from 1960.
Joss Whedon told the Los Angeles Times that if he were running Fox, he would also have scheduled his new series, Dollhouse, on Friday nights. It will debut on February 13, paired with Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
"It’s not a slam dunk, ‘We love everything you’re doing’ slot. Everybody knows that," he said. “The executives I’m dealing with are canny guys."
The current executives at the network are not the same ones who played games with his last series, Firefly, and then summarily dumped it when the show was slow to find its audience. The new execs have shown a willingness to let the series be sampled. “They’re bringing down expectations regarding how big of an audience they think it will bring in the beginning, and then as the show progresses. They need to do that."
"If I were an executive, I would have put it on Friday too, honestly,” Whedon added. “And not as a dig. The people who want this will find it, and hopefully more will as well. Fox is aware that TV just doesn’t exist the same way. People watch it online, on DVD, on their TiVos. It’s not the end of the world, but of course everyone’s been predicting the end of the world for Dollhouse‘since it was announced."
Whedon also noted that while Fox executives will likely have to wait patiently for building returns on the show, he hopes fans will be just as patient with the story line. "We’re trying to create something that’s more than the sum of its parts. And not just in an ‘Oooh, we’re heavy with mythology’ way. Dare I say we’re reaching for something more philosophical? Am I allowed to say philosophical? Or does that just mean my show will fail?"
Some Wonder Woman news popped up over the weekend. First, there was Beyonce Knowles telling Geoff Boucher at the Los Angeles Times that she’d love to portray the Amazon Princess.
"I want to do a superhero movie and what would be better than Wonder Woman? It would be great. And it would be a very bold choice. A black Wonder Woman would be a powerful thing. It’s time for that, right?" she said.
She has appeared in Austin Powers in Goldmember, Dreamgirls, and Cadillac Records in addition to her pop music career. Knowles indicated she has personally expressed her interest to both the studio and representatives at DC Comics.
The shapely and fit performer was ready for the revealing and tight tradition outfit as first designed by artist Harry G. Peters. "I would definitely have to keep it right for that costume. The way that Lynda Carter wore it, she was sooo fine. She was amazing. I saw her costume at the Met. Her waist was unbelievable. It was pretty crazy, actually, her proportions. But I love Wonder Woman and it’d be a dream come true to be that character. It sure would be handy to have that lasso. To make everybody tell the truth? I need that. It would come in very handy."
The 27 year old also noted, "When you think about the psychology of the heroes in the films these days, they are still a lot of work, of course, and emotional. But there’s also an action element that I would enjoy."
IESB is reporting rumors that Warner Bros. may be circling back to McG to direct the long-stalled movie. The man is currently in post-production on Terminator Salvation and was scheduled to direct the Superman reboot before walking off the project prior to Bryan Singer’s involvement. He was also interested in The Losers which went to Tim Story before the studio reassigned it to Sylvain White.
“Let me be very clear about this, I don’t know if he has been signed on or if his is just one of the names being circulated by the studio or if in fact it’s McG himself lobbying for the gig. Could be any of the three,” the site wrote.
“I double checked with a few other industry insiders and after a few phone calls they confirmed of hearing his name circling Wonder Woman as well.”
Joss Whedon’s new series Dollhouse cannot seem to avoid being examined in great depth. Yesterday, Fox consigned it to the dreaded Friday night at 9 p.m. slot and then the Los Angeles Times ran a report on continuing production delays and concerns.
The show shut down production for two and a half weeks in September as Whedon and his team rewrote scripts and refocused the direction. The initial pilot was scrapped in favor of an all new introductory episode.
The Times wrote, “On Thursday, it became obvious that the problems persist. Production on the seventh episode, which is supposed to begin Monday, is being delayed at least a day because the script was in such bad shape, according to a source who requested anonymity. The script for the sixth episode also had big problems, causing production delays that left the cast and crew very frustrated, the source said.”
The article went on to note that Whedon is rarely seen on the set, instead spending his time with the writers. "We have yet to gain any momentum," an inside source told the Times. "The network wants to tone things, and Joss is trying to figure out how to give them that and still do the show he wants to do."
Fox President of Entertainment Kevin Reilly was an early supporter of the series, telling the Times, "He had me at ‘hello’ I was kinda drunk with the surprise of it all. He laid out the whole concept but I think it was one of those things where I heard every other word of it."
That ardor may have cooled given the time slot. Meantime, a new teaser ad went live earlier this week so you can get a feel for the premise for yourself.
Doonesbury was the first media source to call tomorrow’s election for Barack Obama. Garry Trudeau delivered strips via the Universal Press Syndicate last Wednesday including one for Wednesday where soldiers in Iraq are seen watching a television where the announcer calls the election for the Illinois Senator.
Newspaper editors around the country have been put in a difficult position considering the pages that normally run the strip tend to close long before the polls. There’s concern of looking silly should Arizona Senator John McCain be declared the victor.
When queried by the Los Angeles Times about this, the comic strip’s creator Garry Trudeau replied, “polling data gives McCain a 3.7% chance of victory. There’s a greater risk that their presses will break down on Election Day. So I’ve been encouraging editors to choose hope over fear. And reminding them that if I’m wrong, it’ll be my face that’ll be covered with egg, not theirs.
I’d be a lot more worried about the country than the strip. One reporter has already suggested I just carry on with an alternative universe in which Obama wins. It’s not a crazy idea . . . "
McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds told the paper, "We hope the strip proves to be as predictive as it is consistently lame."
Nervous newspaper editors were offered repeats of August comic strips to run the remainder of the week. Ther’s no knowing howmany of the 1400 clients will carry the strip or cave in and go with the repeat. Opinion among editors nationwide has been diverse although not as divisive as the opponents have been.
"I thought it was funny," said Michael Weinstein, features editor for the Charlotte Observer in North Carolina. "But it’s an accuracy issue. We won’t know the outcome of the election until Wednesday.
"It’s just a matter of humor. Is the strip funny if McCain wins? Satire humor is a real difficult subject."
The Chicago Tribune’s Tim Bannon said, "we are reserving the option of running the strip on Wednesday, but we of course would not typeset until we confirmed the result of the election." The Cleveland Plain-Dealer is running the strip as is. "If he’s wrong, he’s wrong," said Debbie Van Tassel, assistant managing editor/features.
Editor John Robinson agrees and wrote at the News and Record of Greensboro NC’s blog, “Risky? Reckless? Not for a cartoonist, but there’s some discussion on the journalism listservs that suggests that this assumed outcome of Tuesday’s election is a limb too far for newspapers.”
"I don’t understand that concern, given Trudeau’s cartooning history," he adds. "I’m thinking that if McCain wins, the embarrassment is Trudeau’s, not ours. Isn’t there anyone who doesn’t think he’s liberal? Besides, if McCain does win, just imagine how much fun it will be to watch how Trudeau handles the turnabout.”
The Los Angeles Times announced they were hedging their bets, not running the strip Wednesday but Thursday if Obama wins. Should McCain win, they will opt for the repeat strips through Friday.
The Envelope of the Los Angeles Times has reported that actor Christian Bale is alleged to have assaulted his mother and sister. Despite these allegations, he was allowed to attend the London premiere of The Dark Knight, after which he turned himself in to the police.
The alleged incident was believed to have taken place on Sunday night at Park Lane’s Dorchester Hotel in London where Bale is staying.
Bale’s mother, Jenny, 61, and sister Sharon, 40, are said to have gone to a police station in Hampshire to make the allegation, which was subsequently referred to the Metropolitan Police.
All Ages Night is a new film about the cool kids who reject the Britneys and Timberlakes for the classic joys of Patti Smith and the Ramones. Written by former Marvel editor (and Wolverine / GI Joe scribe) Larry Hama and his writing partner, Gabrielle Kelly, it’s the story of a London punk who comes to Los Angeles and meets kindred spirits. You can find out more at the film’s MySpace page or by checking out this story in the Los Angeles Times.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia referenced Lex Luthor during a recent oral argument at the nation’s "highest" court.
While considering the case of Gall v. U.S., a judge sentenced a drug dealer to probation rather than the prison term. According to the Times: "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg suggested to the defendant’s lawyer that jail time might have been appropriate because, while his client had left the drug conspiracy, he hadn’t blown the whistle on his co-conspirators.
"The lawyer replied: “Justice Ginsburg, when someone leaves the conspiracy and blows the whistle, typically that individual is not charged…
"’I’m sure that’s not always true,’ Chief Justice John Roberts interjected. ‘I mean, if the leader of some vast conspiracy is the one who blows the whistle, I suspect he may well be charged anyway.’
“’Lex Luthor might,’ added Justice Antonin Scalia."
It is not known if Scalia, a noted right-wing advocate, referenced Luthor out of nostalgia or respect. It is known, however, that Scalia is indeed known for his sense of humor.
Tip o’ the hat to our pal Mike Catron for the lead.
In an op-ed piece in today’s Los Angeles Times, Tim Cavanaugh traces the disconnect between comic book’s influence on mass media and comic book’s actual sales. He starts out on this up-beat note: "Dying media don’t come much dying-er than monthly comic books."
He goes on to decry the "cloying, creepy, did-I-accidentally-enter-a-porn-shop vibe" of many comic book stores, and the cautiousness of most publishers. He talks to Tom Spurgeon and Peter Bagge.
Like so many others, Cavanauagh suggests that the web may be the solution. Stay tuned.
Columns / Glenn Hauman / News
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