It would seem that Warner Bros. Pictures and Atlas Entertainment have rubbed Joss Whedon up the wrong way, after they announced plans to reboot the popular franchise, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'.
Warner Bros. Pictures acquired the rights from creators Fran and Kaz Kuzui, and from Sandollar Productions (Sandy Gallin and Dolly Parton), for Atlas and Vertigo Entertainment to produce. After the 1992 critically-panned 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', the butt-kicking beauty soon became a cult hit on TV with Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz.
However this remake idea has gone down like a lead balloon with TV series creator Joss Whedon, and has taken the opportunity to air his thoughts on the matter.
He says:
"This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths—just because they can't think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself.
"Obviously I have strong, mixed emotions about something like this. My first reaction upon hearing who was writing it was, "Whit Stillman AND Wes Anderson? This is gonna be the most sardonically adorable movie EVER." Apparently I was misinformed. Then I thought, "I'll make a mint! This is worth more than all my Toy Story residuals combined!" Apparently I am seldom informed of anything. And possibly a little slow. But seriously, are vampires even popular any more?
"I always hoped that Buffy would live on even after my death. But, you know, AFTER. I don't love the idea of my creation in other hands, but I'm also well aware that many more hands than mine went into making that show what it was. And there is no legal grounds for doing anything other than sighing audibly. I can't wish people who are passionate about my little myth ill. I can, however, take this time to announce that I'm making a Batman movie. Because there's a franchise that truly needs updating. So look for The Dark Knight Rises Way Earlier Than That Other One And Also More Cheaply And In Toronto, rebooting into a theater near you.
"Leave me to my pain! Sincerely, Joss Whedon."
You may not be surprised to learn that this hasn't phased Warner Bros. in anyway whatsoever, and they will be proceeding with full steam ahead to bring Buffy back to the fans.
Whether the same fanbase will remain faithful is another matter.
Leonardo DiCaprio will star in and produce the movie 'Legacy of Secrecy', based on the book about the John F. Kennedy assassination by Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann - Variety reports!
DiCaprio is eyeing a possible 2013 release of the movie coinciding with the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination, and he's expected to play FBI informant Jack Van Laningham.
The book (full title being Legacy of Secrecy: The Long Shadow of the JFK Assassination) suggests that Mafia godfather Carlos Marcello confessed to Van Laningham to having ordered JFK's assassination. As part of a dangerous and long-secret undercover operation, the FBI positioned Van Laningham to become confidant to Marcello, who ruled organised crime in Louisiana and most of Texas for decades.
This intriguing story features information from declassified FBI files from the National Archives which details the FBI's clandestine operation with Van Laningham and Marcello's JFK confession. Added to the mix are FBI and Secret Service files showing that more than a dozen of Marcello's associates and family members were questioned or arrested by authorities in assocation with the JFK assassination.
Marcello, who died in 1993, has not yet been the subject of a feature film and his name did not appear in the 1964 Warren Report, but the 1979 House Select Committee on Assassinations said mobster Santo Trafficante and Marcello "had the motive, means, and opportunity to assassinate President Kennedy."
As part of Warner Bros.' deal for 'Legacy of Secrecy', Waldron is retaining documentary film and TV rights to the book, which also says the Mafia played a role in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and in the Watergate scandal.
A very interesting story indeed. Can't wait!
'True Blood' hunk Ryan Kwanten wasn't fazed when his younger brother 'came out' as gay - insisting his sibling was a "changed man for the better" when he accepted his sexuality.
The Aussie actor was speaking to gay magazine The Advocate when he revealed his own brother is homosexual. And Kwanten is adamant his brother's secret was keeping his real personality hidden - because his "sheer beauty" appeared when he was true to himself.
He tells the magazine:
"My youngest brother, Lloyd, is gay. He's a doctor, so he got every ounce of intelligence in the family.
"He was probably about 18 when he came out, and I can wholeheartedly tell you that from the day that he did, he was a changed man for the better. The sheer beauty of who he is really came through."
And the actor insists he'd have no problem with pretending to enjoy same-sex liasons if TV bosses took his character Jason down that route.
He adds:
"Well, there are more seasons to come, so there's still many an opportunity. I'm sure (True Blood creator) Alan Ball's concocting some road to take Jason down that he's never been down before."
Roger Daltrey is the latest performer to take aim at Simon Cowell over his talent show The X Factor - branding the hit show a "slump" the music industry must recover from.
The Who frontman rant follows Sir Elton John's recent outburst, in which he branded the talent show "a**e-paralysingly brain crippling". Madness star Suggs, Suede's Brett Anderson and New Order rocker Bernard Sumner have also recently lined up to blast Cowell.
Daltrey claims Cowell has "belittled" music by manufacturing pop stars on his series - and he's convinced rock icons The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and his own band would never have passed the audition stage of the contest.
Speaking to daily rag The Sun, he says:
"We really need to break away from The X Factor and American Idol - that Simon Cowell thing. I really think the music industry will beat this slump and come back stronger.
"Groups like The Who, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles wouldn't have made it past the audition stage, let alone be shown on TV. That's the joke of it.
"The music they make on the shows is absolute tripe. He's made a good industry out of it, but it's belittled the power of music. He wouldn't know what the 'X Factor' was if it bit him on the b**locks."
From a viewer's perspective I can see the draw of the X Factor, and I belie people do want to see an everyday person break into an industry that initially appeared to be only for an elite bunch.
Singers and stars can slate it til the cows come home, but for something that pulls in millions of viewers every week, something must be right with it.
