Me? I'm still breathing into a paper bag over the news of an UNCLE film, so the Buffy thing is just another log on the fire, rather than the fire, in my world.
Would that sacred texts remain sacred texts but I am in no position to argue that, drooling as I was over the Jane Eyre trailer with Fassy, and this is after spending several weeks wallowing deliciously in the Toby version and declaring it to be the knees of bees.
Actually, it may still well be, because as much as I adore Fassy, and I sat through all of Hex for the boy, I still think of Toby as Rochester, and I was very compare and contrast with the trailer. So it's going to be an uphill battle to displace Toby's Rochester in my heart. A very steep uphill battle.
Which of course is going to be the main problem with the Buffy reboot. No matter how much cgi they throw at it, it is going to have to be the best of the best to even come within a whisper of displacing Buffy in my heart. Because, man, I loved that show. There was a time and a place when that show came into my life that just can't be repeated, like when you hear an old song, and you remember where you were when you first heard it. It's like that. Cover versions? On rare occassions they can surpass the original in brilliance, but they can never bring the time and place. That's a once only offer.
So the American studio system has turned into nothing more than a covers band (comics, old tv shows, old films, old books, new books, foreign films, foreign books) and, well, shrug. It could be argued that American film peaked in 1939 and has been idling ever since anyway, but whatevs.
Nothing I can do, and I'll be fuelling the problem by going to that Danny Craig film cause it's like Danny Craig and Indy, and, well, I gotta see (even if the reviews are rotten and I wait until it pops up on cable, as is almost always the case nowadays). I realise my misguided loyalty to some actors does not help matters (I can't think of a single Clive Owen film I haven't loathed) but what's a girl to do? Retire to a cave? Only see silent black and white documentaries about Yugoslavian goatherders? Spare me.
I like costume dramas. I like spies and grifters. I like vampires. I like angsty anti-heroes and hard bitten detectives. I am part of the problem.
You know, if you made me a lush costume drama with charming vampires, dashing spies, disillusioned detectives and angsty super heroes I'd probably be there. I am such a bad, bad girl.
I can see it now. Elizabeth Bennet, vampire slayer, Darcy working for the Napoleonic version of MI6, Bingly as his long suffering handler, Wickham an enemy agent (so suave, so dangerous), Mr Collins an evil vampire king, Mary Bennet hiding her secret powers under a very large bushel, with angst....
Hello, Hollywood???
Have I read any books lately that haven't been filmed, for tv or cinema (though, really, is that even a distinction any more?). Hmmm, a couple of Sutcliffes, but that's about it. Agatha Christie, From Russia with Love, High Fidelity, 39 Steps, Raffles, Casino Royale, Wuthering Heights, Farewell My Lovely, The Saint, Cadfael...nope. Though, in truth, for some I came to the books after the fact, but still.
Meanwhile, tv? Not much. Caught the last Supernatural on Fox8. Sometimes I do wonder whatever happened to those wee boys we first met in series one. I mean, I know, shit happened, and lots of it, and almost all of it bad, but still. Even the actors look like they're carrying the weight of the Winchesters world on their shoulders (or rather just so many years of a tv show. At least the Mavericks used to share the load, but no one would put up with that, especially not me, and the episodes with both Maverick boys are always the best). But yeah, the whole Book of Dean stuff, it seems impossible to climb down off (they promised less theology this year but from the reviews I'm getting a sense of business as usual) and Sam isn't even human any more. It's a bit like Buffy where everyone ended up with a superpower (except Xander).
I mean, I still love Supernatural (hell, you can sure tell in my fic which week the SPN and Spooks dvds arrived from Amazon, omg yes), but I miss the original Hardy Boys meets the X Files premise of it all. The whole angel arc, Cas aside, leaves me cold (don't tell Ash and Matt that, they're doing an angel show for Kudos). Sometimes shows take turns you don't like and just have to follow. But it's a bit of a slog at times (gawd, imagine if White Collar went the way of my fic. WTF indeed).
Sometimes I feel as tired of it as Dean looks. Aw, Dean baby. I want to take him off to the Shake Shack and, horrors, mother him. Now I know I'm getting old (and/or Dean is getting sad) when he invokes extraordinnarily latent maternal instincts instead of other urges. Whatever happened to wanting to throw Dean on the cafe table and having one's wicked way? I guess the poor guy, he looks so tired and fed up and miserable, like he just doesn't need anything else. Oh dear.
Yup, given Dean's long suffering fizog (can't use 'face' any more as it's now to be copyrighted by certain social networking sites), all I feel I should do is feed him burgers, pat him on the head and send him on his way. The poor puppy.
Anything else? Nope. No Burn Notice. Enjoyed Rake, a bit. If you want to know what he was like as Uncle Vanya, this is very close. Distressing to know that a) that's what they were filming across the road and b) Rox and I are closer in age than I like to think, and ditto the script writers (certain quips re school days struck a chord the way US and UK shows never ever do).
Tonight I'll probably be watching Shattered. I'd missed all of Luther etc due to the cable going down every weekend (Foxtel were very nasty over the phone, refusing to admit any fault but apparently they've been running updates that killed Xboxes, amongst other things) so I've been giving the Canadian cops a go. It's is very, very silly, but, well, Callum Keith Rennie. The premise seems to be a cop with multiple personality disorder (and how is he still on the force) but basically it's a Jekyll/Hyde thing and if you make him angry he turns into Gene Hunt and nuts you one. It is the daftest thing, and yet I quite happily watched it. Please bear in mind it was a Friday after a long week though, so I'd checked my brain at the door. He's the Good Cop AND the Bad Cop. I swear that's how the meetings must have gone.
At least it gives me a break from the UK cops wallowing in their roiling manpain and baroque serial killers who always stage their murders/lairs like a Emin installationor something that someone coughed up at the Tate Modern, at any rate (is it art or is it murder, who can say?).
Real life? Nothing I want to admit to, except sitting in a cafe in a brief respite from work, and let's just say I did but briefly see him passing by. That's pretty much it. I was out on Wednesday night but it wasn't very wow and despite being on my (keyword here: mine) best behaviour but I couldn't put a foot right. Perhaps it was the NERD t-shirt I was wearing. Ah well. Sydney = no sense of humour. None at all. Not in the slightest.
Meanwhile, the Cookie Monster seems to be getting a lot of press lately. Reminds me that I may have to take extreme (supersoaker) measures with the parrot who keeps furiously trying to open the door to get to the bickies he knows are within (Polly wants an effing cracker now, bitch). A furious rattling of doorknob every sunset. He'll huff and he'll puff, but so far the door has withstood the assault. I'm amazed. They're cheap doors.
That's when I'm home before sunset. Long, long days as the mad scramble to push everything through before the revolution comes proceeds apace (well, they're scrambling, I have nothing to do but get yelled at). Bugger Xmas, bugger everyone and everything. It's a touch fraught. Tempers are frayed.
If only we could all be like Kirk Douglas. The man is doing charity work, at 93! Sir, I dips me lid.
Video - Douglas stronger says father
http://media.theage.com.au/national/selections/douglas-stronger-says-father-2065091.html
Ninjabread men
http://thatsnoice.com/ninjabread-men/
Friday funnies
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/blogs/last-laugh/friday-funnies/20101125-189a5.html
Rewatching White Collar
http://community.livejournal.com/whitecollar_tv/412120.html
FBI launches insider trading probe into major US hedge funds
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/23/fbi-insider-trading-hedge-funds?CMP=EMCGT_231110&
F.B.I. Agents Raid 3 Hedge Fund Offices
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/11/22/f-b-i-agents-raid-2-hedge-funds-offices/?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=a25
Bramber Castle
http://www.sussex.co.uk/history/bramber-castle.htm
Why can't we handle snow?
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013507661_weathermain24m.html
Sliding Cars in Seattle Snow on 11/22/10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhZCyQ3emQg&feature=player_embedded
The Brit(ish) List
http://community.livejournal.com/brit_actors/474324.html
Tim Berners-Lee criticises Facebook's ‘walled garden'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/8151101/tTim-Berners-Lee-criticises-Facebooks-walled-garden.html
Cookie Monster wants to host 'SNL'
http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2010/11/24/Cookie-Monster-wants-to-host-SNL/UPI-56171290653004/
'Put that cookie down': sacked health chief spawns spoof videos
http://www.theage.com.au/national/put-that-cookie-down-sacked-health-chief-spawns-spoof-videos-20101126-189io.html
Mark Valley's aim is true with ‘Human Target'
http://whosnews.usaweekend.com/2010/11/mark-valleys-aim-is-true-with-human-target/
Jackie Earle Haley Plays Against Type
http://www.parade.com/celebrity/personality-parade/2010/11/28/jackie-earle-haley.html
'Burn Notice's' Michael and Fiona sizzle amid the explosions
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-burn-notice-20101125,0,1814369.story
Supernatural: He's a soul(less) man
http://blog.seattlepi.com/tubular/archives/229488.asp
Oh, Buffy! I don't know whether to weep or cheer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/nov/23/buffy-rises-again-new-film
Joss Whedon written out of Buffy film
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/nov/23/joss-whedon-buffy-vampire-slayer?CMP=EMCGT_241110&
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Fans are Furious: Twitter Reactions
http://smallscreenscoop.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-fans-are-furious-twitter-reactions/312008/
Buffy movie will slay our lust for vampires
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-blog/8157457/Buffy-movie-will-slay-our-lust-for-vampires.html
Joss Whedon angry at Buffy reboot
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/news/joss-whedon-angry-at-buffy-reboot-15011425.html
Joss Whedon Buffy snub sparks Twitter fury
http://www.metro.co.uk/film/848152-joss-whedon-buffy-snub-sparks-twitter-fury
Buffy film a stake in the heart for fans
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/buffy-film-a-stake-in-the-heart-for-fans-20101124-187bv.html
Kristin Chenoweth to Host "A More Perfect Union: Stories of Prejudice and Power" at NYPL (Tim DeKay)
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/145263-Kristin-Chenoweth-to-Host-A-More-Perfect-Union-Stories-of-Prejudice-and-Power-at-NYPL
Exclusive: White Collar's Matt Bomer Calls for Religious Tolerance in New PSA
http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/430663_tvgif23.html?source=pimail
Matt Bomer Speaks Out for Religious Tolerance
http://justjared.buzznet.com/2010/11/23/matt-bomer-speaks-out-for-religious-tolerance/
Morning Meme: Matt Bomer Pleads For Tolerance
http://www.afterelton.com/meme-11-24-2010?page=0%2C2
White Collar, sur le thme connu de l'escroc repenti
http://leviffocus.rnews.be/fr/loisirs/tele/a-la-tele-ce-soir/white-collar-sur-le-theme-connu-de-l-escroc-repenti/article-1194867748755.htm
Sense of Style: Fedora catching on as 'trademark accessory'
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/nov/21/fedora-catching-on-as-trademark-accessory/
White Collar (1 Dec)
http://ten.com.au/whitecollar.htm
USA Network Launches Characters Unite Month to Promote Tolerance, Respect and Unity
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/usa-network-launches-characters-unite-month-to-promote-tolerance-respect-and-unity-109929979.html
Theater Arts alumnus Tim DeKay finds success as an FBI agent on TV’s "White Collar"
http://www.masongross.rutgers.edu/about/news/theater-arts-alumnus-tim-dekay-finds-success-fbi-agent-tv%E2%80%99s-white-collar
