Missing Mary Road

as egypt continues to plunder into chaos, i’m glad we have battlestar to give us some insight.

Orson Welles in 1985 on the idea of colorizing Citizen Kane: “Don’t let Ted Turner deface my movie with his crayons.”

ethal and joel coen have made some fantabulous films over the years, and one gentleman has painstakingly gone through each of his films and made a wonderful infographic out of it. click further for bigger image.

if you combine all tv and film characters and generate a university run by them, you get the below. unknown source. i’ve tried to identify most from my own known knowledge. see if you can fill in the rest. what other departments can you think of? who would fill the roles. who are better suited for the roles below? are any of the ones i’ve written below incorrect?

Dean of Science

Professors of Science

Dean of Engineering

Professors of Engineering

Dean of Business

Professors of Business

Dean of Law

Professors of Law

Dean of Arts

Professors of Arts

Dean of Humanities

Professors of Humanities

Dean of Sports

Professors of Sports

dean of dept of science = dr who
comp sci – chuck bartowski, chuck
med sci – house
math – a beautiful mind – john somethin
theoretical physics – lost, daniel faraday
astronomy – dunno
chemistry – walter white, breaking bad
biology – psycho from human centipede
marine biology – steve zissou, the life aquatic
psychology – hannibal lecter, silence of the lambs
para psychology – fox and mulder, x files
paleontology – jurassic park dude
archeology – indy jones
lab maintenance – i forget

dean of engineering – Q, most bond films
mech eng. – tony stark, iron man
astronautical – scotty, star trek
automotive – i think you already know this bit.
nuclear – peter sellers in dr. strangelove or: how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb
civil – danny day lewis in there will be blood
biological – dude from district 9
practical – angus macgyver
pharmacological – jonathane crane aka scarecrow in batman begins
applied physics – mythbusters dudes
architecture – ?
actuarial – ?

dean of business – gordon gecko from wall street
capital restructuring – various similar roles
public speaking – the tv ad infomercial guy who just died
mergers and & – american psycho or bruce wayne, could be either
corporate raiding – ?
marketing – jon hamm playing don draper in mad men
economics – ?
hostile takeover – hans, die hard
business management – tony soprano
transitional bm – ?
practical bm – steve carrell in the office

dean of law – john saul, breaking bad
corporate law – arrested development lawyer
criminology – ?
criminal justice – robocop
forensics – dexter
ethics – kiefer sutherland playing jack bauer in 24
business ethics – arrested development psycho dad
tactical litigation – kirk or law and order, take your pick
maritime law – sean connery in hunt for red october
tort – ?
bird – ?
habeas corpus – john mclane, die hard

dean of arts – bob ross, the joy of painting
graphic – mad men- bryan batt playing romano
film – ?
theatre – arrested development
fashion – zoolander
photography – hitchcock, rear window
painting – ed harris doing jason pollock
culinary arts – gordon ramsey
literature – ?
music/band – john williams
choir – nph, dr. horrible’s sing along blog
dance – river tam, firefly

dean of humanities – i forget,
journalism – ?
diplomacy – bond
theology – ?
philosophy – the dude, the big lebowski
political science – lolita?
womens studies – hank moody, californication
world languages – hans landa, inglorious basterds
linguistics – philleas fogg?
american history – deadwood
ancient history – ?
medieval history – mad max?
african american history – ?

dean of sports – gene hackman in hoosiers
golf – adam sandler, happy gilmore
hockey – the mighty ducks, emilio esteves
track and field – forrest gump
boxing – sly stallone, rocky
football – oj simpson
baseball – field of dreams
weightlifting – 300?
soccer – bend it like beckham

Warner Bros. Animation is teaming with the Japanese animation house behind Batman: Gotham Knights and The Animatrix to dust off ol’ Lion-O and his refugee clan from Thundera for a new Cartoon Network series.

This new Thundercats will have a decidedly anime flair, given that it’s being coproduced by Japan’s Studio4ºC, the animation house behind Halo Legends and the Oscar-nominated feature, Tekkonkinkreet.

Here’s the official press release:

Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) has begun production on ThunderCats, an all-new animated series for Cartoon Network, based upon the iconic 1980s action classic. ThunderCats is the newest series from WBA, joining Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which was recently renewed for a third season, and the following forthcoming programs: The Looney Tunes Show, MAD, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated and Young Justice. The announcement was made today by Sam Register, Executive Vice President, Creative Affairs, Warner Bros. Animation.

“In addition to being Warner Bros. Animation’s first anime series, ThunderCats marks our most ambitious foray yet into fantasy,” said Register. “The realism and dynamic visual style we’ve achieved are sure to thrill viewers, and the cool weapons, vehicles and technology should help the show appeal to a diverse audience.”

The 21st century reimagining of the series marks a creative collaboration between WBA and Studio4°C, one of the most vibrant animation studios in Japan, with credits including The Animatrix, Gotham Knights and Halo Legends. WBA is working closely with Studio4°C, utilizing the latter’s expertise to give the ThunderCats characters a new cutting-edge look while remaining true to the compelling storylines and mythology of the original series.

“We at Studio4°C are excited to be in this creative partnership with Warner Bros. Animation to bring ThunderCats to life,” said Eiko Tanaka, President and CEO, Studio4°C. “This collaboration combines the strengths of our two companies — high production values and great storytelling — toward reintroducing this classic fan-favorite to a new audience.”

Roaring to life through WBA and Studio4°C’s use of the Japanese animated artistry of anime, ThunderCats characters Lion-O, Mumm-Ra, Panthro, Cheetara and others will spring off the screen with realistic cat-like characteristics inconceivable in previous incarnations.

The new ThunderCats will appeal to viewers who have loved the characters all their lives as well as young newcomers to the franchise. A sweeping tale combining swords and science and boasting ferocious battles with the highest of stakes, the grand origin story of Prince Lion-O’s ascension to the throne – and of those who would thwart his destiny at any cost — takes on epic dimensions in this sharp new telling. As the forces of good and evil battle each other in the quest for the fabled Stones of Power, Lion-O and his champions learn valuable lessons of loyalty, honor and mortality in every episode.

ThunderCats is executive produced by Sam Register (Teen Titans, Ben 10, Batman: The Brave and the Bold). Michael Jelenic (Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Wonder Woman) and Ethan Spaulding (Avatar: The Last Airbender) are the producers.

see my previous posts here and here.

Last week saw the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, and along with it came discussions about the best way to watch the film and what we can expect from future re-releases. Michael Kaminski wrote the exhaustively researched and illuminating book The Secret History of Star Wars, so he knows damn near everything there is to know about the film stock used to shoot the film. George Lucas famously said that the original film “doesn’t exist” anymore, but is that accurate?

How exactly does Star Wars exist now? What are the challenges and possibilities involved in re-releasing a perfected original cut? How do the bootlegs stack up? Let’s find out.

We asked Kaminksi about the master copy of the original Star Wars. What does it look like now? “The term ‘master copy’ is slightly vague, because there are various kinds of print masters of different generations,” he told Ars. The original negative is conformed to the 1997 Special Edition, meaning the physical copy has been cut and edited with CGI “improvements.” With sections of the film being too damaged to work with, parts of that print were taken from other sources. “You never throw away your original negative, so I must assume that any pieces or shots that were removed are in storage somewhere at Lucasfilm or Fox,” he explained.

so i’ve been watching a lot more television than i have films lately (much harder to get out to the cinema being a new parent and all). some shows are far superior to some of the better films out there. (on a side note: amazon has a super sale on criterion’s kurosawa collection which i’m really tempted to buy right now.) so i’m just gonna post some brilliant shows that i’ve seen in the past 12 months, which you otherwise may not have seen and really should. oh by the way, some of the links to the shows have links to full episodes, so go through to the site if you feel like it may interest you.

in no particular order aside from memory…

true blood – vampires, shapeshifters, sex, blood, gore, and mind readers. awesome. season 3 is coming up and looks to be very promising. 8/10

mad men – the cool of the 50s, the precision of set design and some pretty awesome acting and script writing. 9/10

hustle – shows about con artists are always fun. 7.5/10

chuck – good clean spy comedy and drama. besides, adam baldwin kicks ass in any show. 8.5/10

ultraviolet – vampire vs. humans. show from the UK back when vampire culture wasn’t as cool as it was today. was cancelled after one season.  7/10

better off ted – a very funny comedy  with extremely witty and well written humour that takes quite an aim at corporate america. 9/10

fringe – one of the best sci fhows on television. besides, it has leonard nimoy in it. 8/10

firefly – the best tv show that only lasted one season. with big, damn heroes. shiny. joss whedon, ’nuff said. 9.5/10

mission impossible –  the original series, basically pulling off a lot of cons as they really didn’t need to be very technical as the new movies would portray them out to be. 6.5/10

the prisoner –  patrick mcgoohan at his best. this show has done more to inspire and motivate todays television than any other show that i know of. it also is referenced in all sorts of media in ways you wouldn’t have thought of before. 9.5/10

burn notice – the a-team meets mcgyver meets james bond. 7.5/10

the big bang theory – geek comedy at it’s finest. 8.5/10

V – the new one is promising to be a fairly awesome show. and elizabeth mitchell is definitely underrated as an actress. 7.5/10

lost – speaking of elizabeth mitchell, j.j. abrams’ second show on this list after fringe, it’s had it’s ups and downs, and it’s finally coming to a close and worth the watch.

torchwood – the last season of torchwood, children of earth series is some of the best television i saw last year. 9/10

dr. who – david tennant has done more for this show than any other previous doctor. he leaves a huge legacy. 9.5/10

castle – funny detective drama. i’m a fan of nathan fillion, otherwise don’t think i’d be watching it. 6.5/10

merlin – a new take on the retelling of arthur and his relationship with merlin the magician. 6.5/10

robin hood – one more retake on robin and his merry. 6/10

stargate: atlantis – my first venture into the stargate universe. i don’t think i can watch sg1 though, ten seasons to watch would be a bit much. 8/10

sanctuary – sci-fi shows are getting better and better, unfortunately they’re also getting cancelled at a faster rate due to shitty shows like all the idols, runways, bachelors and next top whatevers. 7/10

warehouse 13 – very promising show. sorta men in black meets indiana jones. next season sees sean maher and jewel staite meet up again, can’t wait. 8/10

battlestar galactica – don’t bother watching past the second season. it just goes downhill from there. 9/10 (uptil the 2nd season anyway).

freaks and geeks – another funny cancelled show with an awesome cast. 7/10

undeclared – see above. there’s a trend developing here. shows that get cancelled after one season are generally better shows than stuff they show on tv for ten years straight. (hint: that’s aiming at you CSI, idol, etc.) 6.5/10

dollhouse – the darkest joss whedon show yet. see shpeel above about cancelled shows. 9/10

on the to do list, edge of darkness, glee, eureka for now. what do you recommend watching?

Prana has released a movie trailer for the upcoming animated Bollywood feature film Koochie Koochie Hota Hai, directed by Tarun Mansukhani (Dostana). The film is a quasi-animated take on Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and marks the 12 year anniversary of its release. Shahrukh Khan and Kajol reprise their roles, alongside other voice cast such as Rani Mukherji, Sanjay Dutt, Riteish Deshmukh, Anupam Kher, Uday Chopra and Simi Garewal. The core of the film is a love story between three dogs, and the supporting cast is made up of other animals, roosters, bears, pigs, cats, “and many others from the barn”. The movie is India’s largest animated production of all time.