HEROES – Greg Grunberg’s ‘GROUP SEX’
January 31, 2008 by Spotlight-on WM
Filed under Heroes, TV SHOWS
According to an interview with TV Guide, Greg Grunberg, the actor who plays Matt Parkman on HEROES, has a new project he’s tackling while he has “a little free time” (hmmm): a new movie he and long-time friend J. J. Abrams (ALIAS) have written and are co-producing called GROUP SEX.
It’s about a guy (played by Josh Cooke) who falls in love with a girl (Odette Yustman) only to find out she’s a sexaholic. So in order to get closer to her, he pretends to be one, too… Greg Grunberg’s playing the guy’s best friend who isn’t quite down with the whole thing.
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES’ James Denton, Tom Arnold, Katherine Narducci and HAPPY DAYS star Henry Winkler help round out the cast.
Grunberg says about the chance to work on this movie, “I had all of this free time and decided to get naked and laugh my ass off!” Definitely a reason to go see this one, eh? 
Now, if only they’d get back to the darn series as I need a new episodes of HEROES fix and soon. (The online eps and comics are okay, but just not quite the same thing.)
ENDER’S GAME – It’s About Time…
January 31, 2008 by Spotlight-on WM
Filed under GAMING, MOVIES
In August 1977, Orson Scott Card’s novelette ENDER’S GAME was published in ANALOG SCIENCE FICTION AND FACT and it amazed the sci fi world with its tale of very young, extremely smart, children trained to play war games for an upcoming battle with an alien species called the Formics, a group who had already beaten Earth forces 70 years before, and who are now back to finish the job.
Now, finally, more than 30 years after the story was released and a host of expanded and sequel novels were published (XENOCIDE, SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD, CHILDREN OF THE MIND, FIRST MEETINGS IN THE ENDERVERSE), director Wolfgang Petersen (TROY) is currently working on a film version of the book series with Card writing the screenplay. (Of course, the whole project has been in “development hell” for years, and no list of actors is attached yet, so no guarantees that it will make it for the 2008-2009 movie season, especially since Warner Brothers put it into “turnaround” but I’m keeping my fingers crossed…)
Orson Scott Card has also given Chair Entertainment Group the exclusive license to create games based on the Ender books. They plan to offer the games on all next-generation console, hand-held and PC platforms. With Card’s help, Chair Entertainment will begin development later this year on a game inspired by the Battle Room, the mainstay of ENDER’S GAME. The first version is expected for release via downloadable platforms.
In the meantime, we wait for a chance to train at Battle School to see for ourselves how we’d stack up against a bunch of precocious kids. (Can you say movie “tie-ins”?)
WHO Do You Prefer: Tennant or Eccleston?
January 30, 2008 by Spotlight-on WM
Filed under ACTORS, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Doctor Who, TV SHOWS
After watching DOCTOR WHO for the last 3 seasons and counting, I find I like both “new” Doctors, ninth and tenth in the overall series, but since Christopher Eccleston was “my” first Doctor, I think I’ll always like him the best.
According to an excerpt of his autobiography ANYTHING GOES at the DAILYRECORD.CO.UK, John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness) had this to say about the two doctors:
“I found the set to be a lighter one with David than it had been with Christopher in the lead role. I think David is a happier person, whereas I found Chris to be a bit angsty.”
However, part of the reason he may have found Chris to be a little “angsty” (besides the fact that he’s a serious, intense, focused actor most of the time to begin with) is that John also says,
“On the December day in 2004 when I walked on to the Doctor Who set in Cardiff for the first time, I was bursting with energy, while Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper were exhausted and ready to break for the Christmas holiday.”
I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t be very bouncy either after 16 hour days of filming over the course of a few months… (LOL) Of course, John Barrowman says about himself, “At the best of times I make a subtle first impression.” (Uh, huh.) No doubt, being of Scots origin, John feels a bit more kinship with Tennant than Eccleston, too, saying, “The hardest part for me was to resist speaking to him [Tennant] in a Scottish accent.”
While I like David Tennant as the Doctor, I fear he sometimes strays a bit too far into campiness with the character. (Writing? Acting? Combo of both?) Happy is one thing, but manic is a bit much. (He did crazy/manic/evil well, though, in HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE.) I like Eccleston’s more restrained, drier wit (again, Writing? Acting? Best of Both?) With his Doctor, the peril in each episode felt more real, less cartoony than it can with Tennant’s Doctor.
What I would really like to see in DOCTOR WHO Season 4 or 5 is an episode on the alternate Earth, where Tennant’s Doctor meets up with the Doctor of that universe, played again by Christopher Eccleston. (He’d most likely still be the Doctor there since Rose never existed in that universe, except as a dog, so he wouldn’t have had to suck the Time Vortex out of her, causing him to change…) Add back in Rose, top off with a dash of Captain Jack, make it at least a 2 hour episode, maybe even a 3 part arc, and that would be heaven!
LOST – Whose Bright Idea Was the Captioning?
January 30, 2008 by Spotlight-on WM
Filed under Lost, TV SHOWS
Talk about extremely annoying – tonight’s episode / recap of LOST — which we’ve been waiting for how long now? — is using a stupid ‘captioning’ system at the bottom of the screen to give you ‘back stories’ and ‘on screen facts’ while they use flashbacks to pretty much show you the same thing while talking about it, too. What? Did the writers have a VH1 fixation with the pop-up screen facts thingy and had to find a way to work it into the show? Or maybe they’ve taken a page from channel G4 and the “Star Trek 2.0 Interactive” repeats that have ongoing comments at the bottom of the screen and factoids along the edges, with the show only being a small section of the screen (another channel/show I avoid like the plague when they do that.)
I’ve noticed the LOST guys managed to stop the dratted pop-up comments only during credits. Heaven forbid we should be distracted from those. I mean, I’ve waited all this time just to see who crews the show, haven’t you?
If they manage to do this distracting captioning every episode, and not just this recap version, I’ll have to reconsider watching the series this season. (Maybe I’ll just have to wait for the end of year 2 1/2 minute “distilled version”, eh?)
I don’t know about you, but I watch TV to see and hear an action/adventure story – otherwise I’d pick up a book if I wanted to read it, eh?… <sigh>
23 hours and counting until the beginning of the new season!
(Now the commercials for the new season each featuring a different character are actually quite funny and good, though… )
TORCHWOOD is Back and Hotter Than Ever!
January 28, 2008 by Spotlight-on WM
Filed under TV SHOWS, Torchwood
BBC America is now showing TORCHWOOD Season 2 and Jack’s back. Hooray! And the season starts off with a “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang”!
Oh, man, it’s been so long since he’s had as good a role as Spike that I almost forgot just how much I like James Marsters, but he’s the perfect foil for Captain Jack Harkness. Handsome, funny, sexy, smart, and crazy, he fits right into the show like he’s always been there! And the writers definitely know how to use all those qualities! (And he looks just as good in his natural brunet as he did as “Blondie Bear” Spike on ANGEL and BtVS.)
MUMMY 3 – Another Sequel I Can’t Wait To See!
January 25, 2008 by Spotlight-on WM
Filed under MOVIES
Not only is another BATMAN movie coming out this year (RIP Heath Ledger!) along with the long-awaited INDIANA JONES 4, but they’ve even managed to come up with the third installment in THE MUMMY series (aka THE MUMMY 3: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR.) 2008 – definitely the year of the sequel!
Coming Aug 2008, TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR takes the story to Asia this time around and brings back Brendan Fraser as Rick O’Connell, wisecracking world-traveling adventurer extraordinaire, along with his wife Evie (now played by Maria Bello due to Rachel Weis’s supposed artistic differences with the script), their grown-up son Alex (newcomer Luke Ford), Evie’s brother Jonathan (ably played as always by John Hannah) and a whole new villain, 2000 year-old Emperor Han, brought to life by none other than Jet Li. They’ve also brought in another martial arts great and super actress, Michelle Yeoh, to play an evil sorceress. If I can’t have another original MUMMY aka Arnold-Vosloo-in-a-small-loincloth fix, a Brendan Fraser-Jet Li matchup is the next best thing. (LOL)
Here’s another movie I can’t wait to see over and over (and will no doubt add to my permanent DVD collection as soon as it’s available!)
There’s no official website yet as far as I can tell, but the director has a great site with behind-the-scenes pictures and interviews: Rob Cohen THE MUMMY
Anyone Remember LOST?
January 25, 2008 by Spotlight-on WM
Filed under Lost, TV SHOWS
It used to be if you missed an episode of a show, you could just wait until summer to see the whole series repeated. (Does that date me much? LOL) Then it became possible to watch a missed ep later in the week when networks would show a program more than once in a week for people who actually worked and didn’t know how to program a VCR. As time progressed (and as did technology) you could hop over to the official website to catch the episodes you managed to miss TIVO’ing.
Now ABC has found a way to make it even easier: they’ve managed to condense 3 years of LOST episodes into 1 eight minute (hilarious video) summarizing “everything” you need to know before Jan 31st, the date the 4th season FINALLY begins! (After THIS much time, it feels almost more like a reunion show than a season, doesn’t it?)
So who needs 3 LOST DVDs boxsets
ABC Official Website – More LOST Promo Videos
MUSIC AND LYRICS – Better Than Expected
January 14, 2008 by Spotlight-on WM
Filed under MOVIES, MUSIC
I was desperate for something to watch while I work – especially since I’m getting 2 premium movie channels for free so there HAS to be SOMETHING on, right? – when I noticed MUSIC AND LYRICS, the movie with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore, was showing this month. I never saw it when it first came out, but had liked the commercials, so wanted to see if I’d missed out by not seeing it in the theaters.
Now, normally I find that Hugh Grant tends to play the same character over and over as does Drew Barrymore a lot, so I figured I’d get some work done since I wouldn’t have to give it my whole attention. What I didn’t realize is how well their “usual” characters would mesh and work so well together. In fact, I’ve now watched it about 4 times (and counting since I DVR’d it) and it keeps growing on me.
I really couldn’t say why. There’s just something about it that makes me want to rewatch it again and again. (It’s probably the great 1980s derivative “Pop Goes My Heart” song they created as the signature tune of the has-been band – very dead-on Duran Duran-ish/Flock of Seagalls-ish and most likely would have been a chart-topper back in the day!)
Read more
New Hybrid Cars: 150MPG SUV Hybrid
January 13, 2008 by Spotlight-on WM
Filed under ENVIRO, Hybrid Cars
AFS Trinity Power Corporation, an innovator in the creation of new hybrid cars among other things, has designed the XH150, an SUV hybrid that gets up to 150mpg in test runs. Wow!
I don’t know about you, but my little Subaru Forester only gets 20-25mpg when it’s in a good mood, less when it’s not (which is more times than I care to think about.) With gas running about $3.05 for the low grade where I am (and likely to go up, not down), that would be like gas selling for around $.50/gallon. Who wouldn’t love that?
Supposedly one drawback in being able to get that kind of mileage is having to plug the car in at night in order to keep the batteries topped up – the car can go up to 40 miles without using the gas engine, perfect for short hops to the grocery, etc. (Other hybrids use the gas engine to keep the batteries charged while driving, but you’re creating the electricity at car gasoline prices – this vehicle uses household electricity, which is a LOT cheaper!) After 40 miles, it uses the combined electric/gas technologies to keep the car going – so unlike a totally electric car, you wouldn’t suddenly be out of juice somewhere and have to wait for a charge up (if there’s a charge-up station around you can use!) With the XH150, you would just automatically be switched to using the part of the engine powered by the not-as-cheap-to-use gas, available everywhere.
I don’t know about you, but I have to plug in my cell phone just about every night, so why would plugging my car in be such a problem? Especially since this new one uses a regular household plug, unlike previous electric car incarnations. (Pull into garage, get out, plug in, go in house. TaDA!) And unlike my cell phone, if I forget to plug it in, the car has the alternate means of running on the gas in the tank if the batteries aren’t full!
Check out the data from their latest press release:
- more than 150 miles per gallon of gasoline based on the EPA Combined Urban/Highway Driving Cycle with 6 days per week of 40 miles per day in all electric mode and one day at 100 miles with assistance of the gas engine. Different driving patterns will produce different results
- 40 mile all-electric range on a single, overnight charge.
- Extended range of 400 miles with hybrid operation.
- Rapid acceleration in all modes of operation, including all electric mode in which no gasoline is burned at all.
- Highway speeds up to 87 miles per hour in either all electric or hybrid mode
- Even faster acceleration and higher speeds possible in future production models should the company decide to configure them for such performance.
AFS Trinity XH-150 Performance Comparison Table
|
|
AFS Trinity |
2008 Lexus |
2007 Saturn Vue |
2008 Chevrolet |
|
Combined City/Hwy Mileage |
150 MPG |
25 MPG |
26 MPG |
20 MPG |
| 0-60 time - Full Hybrid mode - All-electric mode - Mild Hybrid mode |
6.9 secs |
7.5 secs |
12.5 secs |
8.1 secs |
|
Top Highway Speed |
87 MPH |
116 MPH |
106 MPH |
112 MPH |
|
Weekly Gasoline Cost |
$7.93 |
$47.60 |
$45.77 |
$59.50 |
|
Weekly Electricity Cost |
$7.56 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
|
Total Weekly Fuel Cost |
$15.49 |
$47.60 |
$45.77 |
$59.50 |
And another great thing is they’re talking about pricing it in the low-mids $30,000’s when it goes public – only about $8,000 over the current “normal” SUV gas-guzzling car price and still less than most luxury cars. And unlike most of the current hybrid cars, this is a true SUV, with room to haul stuff and have passengers (at the same time!)
Check out their video to see it in action (and listen to the neat jazzy background music):
AFS Trinity is a privately-owned Delaware corporation headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, USA that is developing Fast Energy Storage for vehicular, spacecraft and stationary power systems that utilize batteries, flywheels and ultracapacitors.
Talk About Lucky…
January 10, 2008 by Spotlight-on WM
Filed under OTHER
We had been doing some “hunting of the wild book” this morning at a Vancouver library book sale as we are wont to do and decided to hit some of the local thrift stores, too. After going to 3 or 4 of our favorites, and feeling really tired (we had had to get up REALLY early to make the 1st sale), we were going to drive home early. But I had “little book voices” calling to me from over in Portland and wanted to go there before heading back. Mom was of the opinion we should go home and nap out. So we flipped a quarter for it and I won. As we were heading towards Oregon, I told Mom to check out the sky behind us. In front was clearing, but behind was a dark grey, almost black, sky. I was looking for rainbows, since it looked like heavy rain, saw none, so went back to watching where I was driving. We stopped at a favorite haunt or two in West Portland and were about to go our merry way when we heard there’d been 1, possibly 2, freak tornados where we’d just been in Vancouver. Talk about lucky! If we’d headed directly home instead of going south, we’d have driven right into at least one of them! Amazing how things sometimes work out. (Going to have to see about keeping that quarter – it appears to have predictive properties. LOL)
