George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead:
Horror maven George A. Romero has signed on to write and direct “George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead,” following in the tradition of his 1968 cult classic “Night of the Living Dead.”
With a story mixing elements of “The Blair Witch Project” and the long-running “Dead” series, the film will follow a group of college students shooting a horror movie in the woods who stumble upon a real zombie uprising. When the onslaught begins, they seize the moment as any good film students would, capturing the undead in a “cinema verite” style that causes more than the usual production headaches.
I’m still waiting for a Shaun of the Dead sequel.
But Diary of the Shaun would sound stupid. And Shaun of the Dead II: The Wrath of Khan would sound too Austin Powerish.
I know, I’m shameless.
Germany is selling Israel two nuclear-missile submarines.
With the purchase of two more German-made Dolphin submarines capable of carrying nuclear warheads, military experts say Israel is sending a clear message to Iran that it can strike back if attacked by nuclear weapons.
The purchases come at a time when Iran is refusing to bow to growing Western demands to halt its nuclear program, and after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be “wiped off the map.”
I don’t really have a problem with this. Israel isn’t very much liked in the Middle East, and while the country has never come right out and said “we’ve got nukes”, it has long been suspected that they’ve actually got a sizeable nuclear stockpile, and what country buys missile submarines if it can’t put nuclear missiles into it? (And they’ve already got three of the fuckers).
If the nutjob in charge of Iran is smart, he’ll be going back to the negotiation table before he causes his country and the citizens under his charge to get mushroom-clouded.
(Because, let’s face it, genocide is wrong, and I think its great that a nation that once tried to genocide the Jews is now helping protect the Jews from being genocided by Iran, but the only dude who can save Iran now is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad).
Coming on DVD in just a few weeks is a new release of the original Star Wars Trilogy — or maybe I should say, a new “old” release … for the first time on DVD, the original theatrical versions of the first three films are being released on DVD. No Jabba in Star Wars. No Greedo shooting first. No enhanced dance sequence in Return of the Jedi. No shots of the enraged Wampa beast on Hoth or windows in Cloud City in Empire.
I was all set to buy them. Now I’m hesitating. Why? Well, for one thing, next year is the 30th Anniversary of the premier of Star Wars. And we all know that George Lucas is a marketing genius … i.e., cash-cow.
The Digital Bits reports …
Also today… a follow-up on something we’ve been telling you to expect for quite while now. 2007, as you may well be aware, is the 30th anniversary of the original Star Wars’ debut in theaters. You’d have to be stupid not to know that Lucasfilm is going to have big DVD release plans with which to celebrate the anniversary, and we’ve been telling you that was the case for many months now. Indeed, during our last visit to the Ranch for the DVD release of Episode III, producer Rick McCallum confirmed that a box set of all six films was going to happen eventually, and animation director Rob Coleman even let it slip that the puppet Yoda from Episode I had already been replaced with a new CG Yoda to match Episodes II & III for the “future” release. T-Bone over at Star Wars Universe recently speculated about this box set, and we’ve been quietly checking in with our industry sources on it as well. Well, we’ve confirmed it: There IS a big, ultimate, 6-film Star Wars anniversary DVD box set planned for 2007. There will be more changes to the films, and there will be LOTS of new, never-before-seen special features - all the good stuff that was held back by Lucasfilm from the original Trilogy DVD release a few years ago. Think deleted scenes and more. We don’t know if good, genuinely-REMASTERED versions of the original theatrical editions of the films will be included or not (though how you could call the set “ultimate” without them, we don’t know). We don’t expect high-definition versions yet, as those formats are just too new. We don’t have ANY other details for you yet, so please don’t ask. But as you consider whether or not to purchase the “limited edition” DVDs due on 9/12… we thought you should know that more IS absolutely on the way next year. ‘Nuff said for now.
Stuff to think on before spending $50 on yet another copy of the Star Wars Trilogy. Counting VHS and laserdisc, I’ve already fucking got five copies of the thing.
(Oh. Also. I will, on occasion, slip and refer to Star Wars as A New Hope, but here’s the thing — to me? That first film will always be Star Wars. A New Hope is the fucking subtitle on that flick, always has been, always fucking will be. Star Wars. That’s the name of the film. STAR WARS. People who consistently refer to it as A New Hope bug the piss out of me, and I only refer to it as that when I’m with a bunch of anal geeks who keep asking me, “But, they’re all Star Wars! What one do you mean?”)
I’m so glad I don’t work in retail anymore.
I just got back from the Towson Barnes & Noble. You know the saying, “Have Gift Card, Will Spend?” Well, now you do. Anyway, waiting to checkout — at the lower-floor registers, because I was parked literally right out the door — behind this old short grandmother with a European accent type, who was upset because a book her daughter special ordered apparently couldn’t be located. Anyway, short old grandmother with a European accent type — that’s long, so I’ll just refer to her from here-on in as “Grandma Witch” (because even I won’t call a bitch a bitch if she’s a short old grandmother with a European accent type) — was very upset and causing great trouble for the clearly-new-but-trying-and-cute girl behind the register.
Finally, management type showed up and asked Grandma Witch for the phone number the book special order had been placed under. Grandma Witch stated there were ten possible numbers her daughter had listed, then began listing them. None of them showed any special orders.
Then management type asked for Grandma Witch’s daughter’s name, with Grandma Witch gave out, then gave an abbreviation of that same name under which she was certain daughter had ordered the book. Again, no dice.
Grandma Witch, who came into the store completely unprepared to pick up special order book, stormed out cursing and muttering in her European accent about stupid bookstore employees.
Of course, since it’s well known that one must have multiple advanced degrees to work in a bookstore (that guy behind the counter at the espresso bar has a PhD in rocket science), clearly, the issue at hand is with UnPrepared Grandma Witch not knowing any of the pertinent information about the book reservation to begin with. (Waiting behind her in line, I got to listen to her cuss out someone for taking too long to find a “fucking car space.”)
I don’t know what that pertinent information might be. When I decide I need a book, I usually look it up on Amazon. If I decide I need it “right away” I drive to Border’s or Barnes & Noble. If they don’t have it, I don’t special order it — I go back home and fire up my computer and go back to Amazon. I’m surprised how many people still special-order books, it seems like a complete and total waste of time and energy (not to mention money).
Since it’s somewhat related, if you’re ever looking for a book and can’t find it on Amazon or eBay (eBay’s great, I just got the first six books of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series for $20 including shipping), try Alibris, which specializes in out-of-print stuff.
Oh! And at B&N, I was surprised - albeit pleasantly - to find that David Simon’s Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, the book upon which the show was based, the account of the year he spent with the Baltimore Police Department’s Homicide unit, has been republished (with photos!). I was almost tempted to replace my copy, which is falling apart. But I didn’t. Because books that are falling apart with a ripped cover and weary pages are a testament to how much that book has been enjoyed.
(You know when I call her “grandmother witch”, I mean “grandmother bitch” … right?)
