Fake Campaign Shirts 09

I'm still making my way through Battlestar Galactica for first time, because I refuse to watch good TV shows until everyone else in the world is already over them. Some of the election episodes got me itching for a good "Baltar/Zarich 01" shirt (01 of course referring to the calendar restart following the earth getting blowns up...that's how it works, right?) I couldn't really find what I wanted, except for this officially licensed merch by the Sci-Fi Channel, which you can't even get anymore.



Disappointing, yes, but it did lead me on a quest to find other awesome fake campaign shirts. Because nothing says "I Refuse to Draw A Line Between Fantasy and Reality" like wearing a campaign shirt for a candidate in an election that takes place in a made up fantasy land.

This is probably the greatest shirt ever. You don't need to read the rest of the post, cause it's all downhill from here. You don't even need to be a fan of Futurama to enjoy this shirt; anyone can enjoy the horrific comedy inherent in the idea of a Mecha Nixon running for public office.

More less good shirts after the jump...

This is a dumb cheesey font and unimaginative design. I think Zaphod would have his campaign team go a lot, A LOT, flashier. You should have to plug this shirt in. There's so much potential. It's a good thing D. Adams is already dead, because seeing this shirt would kill him. Someone please make a better one.


Sometimes a show does all the work for you in designing the campaign iconography; in the 3rd Season of the Wire, we saw this plain and simple campaign logo all over the place, but it took a weirdly long time for someone to make a decent shirt out of it.

You'd think there'd be like a million awesome Harvey Dent shirts online, right? Nope! The official viral campaign shirts are lame and no one has made any cool ones. This Obama knockoff is the best the internet has to offer. Sad sad state of affairs. Get it, state? State official, election, district attorney....eeheh. I guess there's no need for re-election campaign materials anyway, because one party with Bruce's friends and he'll never need another cent! Also he's dead.

The Clown Prince of Oscars

The most purely deserved award of the night. Tomorrow, I'll watch The Dark Knight on blu-ray and reflect on the awesomness that is the Nolanverse Joker, and how lucky we Batman fans are to have such a wonderful performance to savor forever. But tonight, I will dream of an alternate reality where Heath was up on stage accepting his award, thanking Christopher Nolan for guidance and Alan Moore for inspiration, and teasing us all with hints about his part in the next movie. Wish you were here, HL.

Notes From The AMC Best Picture Showcase

On Saturday, I watched all five Best Picture nominees for this year's Oscars as part of the AMC Best Picture Showcase. The first film started at 10:30am, and the day wrapped up at fifteen to midnight.

The single most interesting thing I observed:

All five nominees feature at least one scene of rear male nudity. Milk and The Reader present this nudity in a sexual context, while Slumdog, Benjamin Button, and Frost/Nixon use it for comic effect. 2008 will be truly be remembered as the Year of Man Butts. This is perhaps the true reason Wall-e and The Dark Knight were not nominated.

More notes and observations on this year's crop of Best Picture noms, after the jump....

SPOILER WARNING: Plot points are discussed.

Male nudity aside, here are some other qualities the Best Picture noms share...

Each film is set in a notably troubled time. It's not just individual characters who are suffering, it's the society they live in at large.

• Milk: The American Gay Community vs intolerance.
• The Reader: Post-War Germany vs holocaust guilt.
• Benjamin Button: New Orleans vs Hurricane Katrina.
• Slumdog Millionaire: Impoverished youth of India vs Exploitation.
• Frost/Nixon: America vs The Corruption of Their Political Leaders.

Four films feature prominent references to opera. Frost/Nixon is the only one that doesn't.

Three films feature suicide, and two of those are by hanging.

Two films feature brothels. In Benjamin Button, it is presented cheerfully and positively. In Slumdog, not so much.

Only one film is set in the modern era - Slumdog Millionaire. It's also the only film to feature any cinematic storytelling techniques that have been invented since 1940.

None of of the films feature interesting parts for women. Even Kate Winslet's character in The Reader, which she'll probably get an Oscar for, gives her very few opportunities to express anything internal. She's an illiterate ex-nazi who has awesome sex with a fifteen year old boy, and really, there's not much more we learn about her other than that. We only see her as she relates to her young lover, who is the film's true focus. In Slumdog, Ben Button, and Frost/Nixon, the prominent female characters are the objects of desire for the protagonist, and that's it. There are no women in Milk, except for a lesbian with two lines. Not a great year for ladies in film, is all I'm saying.

Notes On The Experience

I slept through at least 1/3 of Benajmin Button, and missed the part where he gets young and sexy entirely (I woke up when he was a pimply teen). I do not feel I missed out on much.

Everyone who got a full-day pass got a refillable Watchmen popcorn bag. I expected to be dipping in and out of the concession stand all day, but as it turns out one large bag of popcorn is the maximum a human being can consume in a 24-hour period.

Just before the Reader's climactic scene, where Ralph Finnes goes to visit Kate Winslet in jail, the film caught fire and burned a hole in the middle of the frame! It looks EXACTLY like it does when it's done as a special effect - big red burn in the middle of the image that spreads outward until all that's left on screen is a big while hole framed by crinkley black ashes. It was AWESOME. The audience was very good natured about it, A. because it looked so cool, and B. to AMC's credit, they fixed it surprisingly quickly - the break lasted less than five minutes and the film picked up right where we left off. This is why I love AMC - if it had been a Regal Theater, they would have kept us waiting for two hours before they told us to go home. AMC FTW.

Headache set in at the end of Slumdog, but I had prepared by bringing a huge bottle of advil.

I tried to Twitter throughout the showcase using a tmobile daypass for internet access, but it didn't work. Even after calling tech support, nothing. I hate you tmobile. I hate you forever.

With all five films fresh in my mind, I can safey say that only Milk and Slumdog seem even remotely like Best Picture Material.

Frost/Nixon is entertaining, but less a like a great movie than the sort of slightly cheesey and heavily plot based movie that I'd enjoy watching every now and then on TNT while working at home.

Ben Button is boring and souless and does not even feature very impressive special effects. When he's in old-kid makeup, his proportions are always way off. I know this movie cost a billion dollars to make and is a drama, but surely those are not the ONLY qualifications to get a Best Picture nom ?

The Reader at first seems to be a really interesting metaphor for post-war German guilt; Kate Winslett IS the holocaust! The kid IS post-war Germany! But about half way through it turns out it's really just a movie about the dangers of illiteracy in middle class women.

I really liked Milk, and it definitely makes an effective mark as the first Major Hollywood Gay Civil Rights Movie. I'm also really happy to see the gay kid from High School Musical has managed to score a role in which his character can be openly gay. This is progress.

Slumdog is the most entertaining, exciting, and inventive film nominated. There are problems, it's not a masterpiece, but it's the best of the bunch. I'm glad it's going to win.

All that said, Dark Knight was robbed. If the Academy can nominate the boring piece of trash like Lord of the Rings 3 (seriously, what was going on?), they certainly could have nominated Dark Knight, a thoughtful, mesmerizing, and occasionally very artful action movie. Your day will come, Nolan. One day, we'll show them all.

The Year In Film In One Image

You know, we at Geekanerd could have done one of those big "Best Films of 2008" articles, but why bother when this Village Voice cover sums it up in one image. This is really all you need to know about 2008. Here's hoping 2009 offers more surprises.

Disturbing Chritmas Wishes From The Joker

Unless you have a serious aversion to LedJoker impressions and/or disturbing Santa Claus iconography, this video is a virtual lock for Geek Christmas card of the year.


This is an off-shoot from the fanvid series Batman: The Joker Blogs, which, despite a terrible title, is startlingly good and will probably get it's own post eventually once I've had time to collect myself. Seriously, even if you're not feeling the Xmas vid above (dude kind of falters at the deep 'n' scary Joker voice, I know), you'll probably still want to check out The Joker Blogs. As fan tributes go, TJB is an extremely well written, well acted, and dare I say insightful piece of work, and when he departs from Heath's line readings and starts inhabiting the character on his own, dude's Joker impression is something special.

Geekanerd Spotter: Dark Knight Drink Special

Looks like post Dark Knight the Joker has gotten a job as a signmaker in a cheesy Midtown bar. I suppose this speaks to the mainstream penetration of the movie. Or something.

Happy Birthday To Us! Geekanerd Is One!

The Gnerd Crew: Albo, Johnny, Bishop, Fred, Sarah B and AHR.*

"But Albo," you say, "Just one year? I feel like Geekanerd has been around forever! I can't imagine a time without such a great source for comic book, movie, and video game news and opinions!" Yeah, we get that all the time. But it's true! One year ago this week, AHR posted our very first article--a "Panel Discussion" of Avengers: The Initiative #2. Panel Discussion became a weekly feature, and this wild n' crazy journey down the rabbit hole of Geekanerdism began. But enough about the first article, what were the BEST articles? And so, in celebration of our first birthday:

GEEKANERD'S TOP TEN MOST POPULAR ARTICLES ALL TIME

(Based on total visitors)

After the jump!

*Not pictured: Degan. He's in LA or something. Nerd.

10. The Dark American Psycho Knight
Our mashup of the newest Dark Knight trailer with scenes from American Psycho probably got some people in trouble at work, but that didn't stop word of mouth from making it a minor internet hit.

9. MoCCA 2007: Hot Webcartoonist Action!
Apparently people are really curious what all those reclusive cartoonists look like in the flesh. I must admit I was mildly surprised to discover what a good looking group they are! Or maybe Special Ops Correspondent Bishop just has eyes for the pretty ones. I suspect we'll be getting a sequel to this one soon, considering MoCCA went down over the weekend... Bishop?

8. An Insane Fan's Guide to the Sweeney Todd Trailer
As soon as the Sweeney Todd trailer reached our internets AHR withdrew into her patented Foaming Geek Analysis Mode to dissect the images and draw an opinion on the adaptation of what she has long considered "the greatest material ever written." She picked it apart as only a true fan could, which is really what Geekanerd is all about.

7. Superhero Fashion at the Metropolitan Museum
Special Ops Correspondent Bishop strikes again, with this awesome sneak preview of the Superhero Fashion exhibit that's still going on at the Met.

6. The Kwik-E-Mart Comes to Times Square
Mere steps from her apartment door, AHR stumbled upon NYC's very own Kwik-E-Mart on the morning it opened, giving Geekanerd readers the first look at this Simpsons Movie publicity stunt. Having the only Kwik-E-Mart photos on the internet for a couple of days got us tons and tons of traffic. Truly our first blockbuster article.

5. Watchmen Movie Photos to Comic Panels Comparison
Many places on the internet referencing such a comparison link Maxim's similar article, but ours was chock full of the kind of intense scrutiny and analysis that only a true fan can deliver. "Geekanerd: When Maxim Just Isn't Geeky Enough."

4. Dark Knight Bootleg: The 7-Minute Scene
This video still gets a lot of visitors clamoring for anything Dark Knight related. It's a recording of a full scene from DK that ran before I Am Lengend on IMAX screens. The video gets taken down every once in a while by Warner Bros., but we've managed to keep getting it back up. I actually haven't even watched it, as I want to be as fresh as possible when I go in this summer. (It's great! - AHR)

3. Venture Bros. Season Three Preview
This is a relatively young article that's climbed to the top three in record time. Another case of being the first on the scene with something that a certain niche is itching for, AHR shot this at a New York Comic Con panel and for some reason was the only person to do so and post it. There was only one place for Venture Bros fans to come for their fix, and we welcomed them with open arms. The recording was so ubiquitous that most sites reporting the official release of the preview weeks later made remarks like "Now you can stop watching that bootleg version."

2. Portal Authority: Everything Good on the Internet About Portal
AHR here for this one. This post is very close to my heart. Writing it allowed me to take the mind-consuming obsession and adoration I experienced after playing Portal and expel it onto the internet, where I could share the crazy with similarly afflicted fans. Analysis born of all-encompassing geek-love is something I always wanted to be at the heart of this site. It's been more than half a year since this post, yet it seems like GLaDOS and I met only yesterday.

1. Early Zelda Drawings Reveal Hyrule That Could Have Been
It might be misleading to call this our most "popular" article ever. It certainly has the most visitors, but my fanboy rant drew a lot of fire from Zelda-ites all over the internet. I thought I loved the franchise, but I've got nothing on the people that came out to say all sorts of bad things about me: "the author's a whiny little bitch," "this guys is an idiot," "a bucket of pure distilled nonsense," "he's talkin rubbish," "this guy is a whiny dick," "what a prick this guy is." I had some well spoken supporters in the massive (for G'nerd) comment section, though, which softened the blows. I suppose I've learned my lesson about inflammatory language.

And to you, dear readers...thanks to the early birds who've been with us for the whole year, and who stuck with us during our colored text phase and the endless reconfigurations of Snap Judg(e)ments. Thanks to the new folks who have joined the party in the last few months, and have pushed our stats into the magical land of Maybe We Should Be Making Money Now. Thanks even to the horny guys and gay girls who just came here once for the Nerdcore Calendar link. We wish we could offer each and every one of you a piece of this unbelievably delicious Food Emporium cake. Stick around for an exciting year two, which Force-willing will include some podcast action and maybe even our own little t-shirt collection.

NYCC 08 Day 2 Notes: New Details on Incredible Hulk (Tony Stark!), Dark Knight, The Spirit and More

A bulleted list of all the Day 2 goodness:


New Dark Knight Trailer

• It goes down like this: Standard shots of Gotham rooftops, then we come across a perched Batman. He jumps down. The Joker's voice: "Where do we begin?" There's a scene of him organizing a table of Gotham crooks, very reminiscent of The Hood's meetings in New Avengers. Crooks: "What do you propose?" Joker: "Kill the Batman." Oh, we've never thought of that! "Here's my card," he closes, holding up a (wait for it) Joker playing card. There are some shots of Maggie Gyllenhaal 'breaking up' with Bruce Wayne and going with Harvey Dent. She tells Bruce "I can't be your only connection to a normal life." Dent asks Alfred if Wayne is the kind of ex-boyfriend he needs to look out for (I forget the exact wording) and Alfred gives the old superhero movie standby "You have no idea." The Joker then crashes a fancy gala in a scene that reminded me of Nicholson's museum crash from Batman but without the Prince. He singles out Gyllenhaal (probably because she's Dent's girl now). Then there's a bunch of explosions and fighting, and a quick shot of Dent screaming "Don't!" or "No!" or something as he's laying with half his face in (or close to) some menacing liquid. From another scene, he says to Bruce "You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain." Well well.

UPDATE: Thanks to the commenters (Snoo, VRICH10, ultimatefan and others) at Superhero Hype for straightening me out on a couple of points. Memory and a notepad are imperfect beasts!

Lots of details about The Incredible Hulk (including Tony Stark's cameo!), The Spirit and more after the jump!

The Incredible Hulk

• Lots of juicy bits about this movie. The first clip they showed us was Bruce Banner being hunted down by the government. They have him locked in an above-ground glass walkway, but when they gas him he transforms into the Hulk and smashes out. They chase him around with gunner vehicles that always seem to be jumping (blame the floaty Halo warthog), which he demolishes. Finally Emil Blonky (played by Tim Roth) has a one on one man-to-monster showdown with him. Blonksy isn't the Abombination yet, but he has been treated with some of the Super Soldier serum (which is colored Captain America blue!) so he fares pretty well, flipping around and shooting Hulk with a grenade launcher and a handgun. At the end of the scene they are just standing there eying each other, Blonsky says "Is that all you've got?" and after a pause Hulk gives him a giant foot to the chest. Applause erupts.
• When asked about an Avengers movie, producer Kevin Feige said "It depends on how this film and Iron Man do. I'd like to see it happen."
• On his character in the film, Tim Roth said: "Blonksy is a combat man, not a desk man. He loves it. But his body is aging. Then he sees the Hulk and sees another option."
• Someone asked about the Ed Norton trouble and the question was deflected by Gale Anne Hurd: "If he wasn't happy he wouldn't be out there supporting the film." Meanwhile Kevin Feige leans in and whispers to director Louis Leterrier "Is this ok?" to which Leterrier responds "It's ok." Clearly there's more than a little truth to the rumors.
• Leterrier claims that originally Hulk and Abombination didn't talk, but that so many people on the message boards wanted to hear things like "Puny humans" and "Hulk smash" that they changed the CGI and made them talk.
• Lou Ferigno came out and confirmed he has a part in the film. They wouldn't confirm what.
• They showed us the full trailer, which seemed to spell out the whole movie: It begins with Banner in hiding in a foreign country (South American?) trying to find a cure for his condition. General Ross (William Hurt) finds him: "He stole military secrets. Take him." There are a whole bunch of shots of him running around whatever country he's in, then a random one of him in Antarctica or something which I'm wagering is the last shot of him in the movie. Like Frankenstein's monster floating away on an ice floe, Banner goes to the pole to be alone. Back to the trailer, it becomes a lot of Hulk smashing tanks and helicopters and whatnots. Then Blonsky gets Ross to agree to turn him into a beast that can face off with Hulk. And when Blonksy becomes a monster and starts trashing New York City Norton heroically exclaims "There's only one thing that can stop him, and it's inside me!" Cue fight.
• After the trailer they showed us Tony Stark's long-rumored appearance in the film. If I were to place it I would imagine it was at the very end of the film. General Ross is drinking in a bar, looking extremely depressed and defeated. Stark rolls in and says "Ah, the smell of stale beer and defeat. I hear you have an unusual problem." Ross: "You should talk." Stark: "You should listen." UPDATE: Clips from this scene have surfaced in a new TV spot for the movie!

The Spirit

• Frank Miller was actually dressed as The Spirit without the mask. Black suit, bright red tie, black fedora. Seeing him in front of his poster with the same look was almost comical.
• When asked by MTV's Kurt Loeder how he blended his signature aesthetic with that of Will Eisner, Miller joked "I threw out everything he did." But as you've probably seen in the teaser (seen at the end of this article), he wasn't really joking. He claims "I knew Eisner well. And I know that if I raised a rusty monument to his work Will would rise from the grave and strangle me. We used the most advanced technical methods available to translate his vision into a very modern movie. It will be a bit of a shock to purists, but you will see Eisner's touch throughout. Look out for a particular manhole cover."
• Miller spoke about how hard it was to find a good unknown male actor for the part, quipping "Hollywood produces many great actors. But very few men."
• Responding to Kurt Loeder's poorly phrased question about if she felt like she was "just a hot babe" in the movie, Eva Mendes replied "Hell no. I'm a kick ass jewel thief who's been married fourteen times and killed all of her husbands. Does that sound like 'just a hot chick' to you? I'll kill you right now, Kurt!"
• Speaking of Eva Mendes, her and Miller were very touchy-feely kissy-kissy throughout the panel.
• Miller got serious to note that "We were able to do something that was not homogenized because Will insisted on owning his work. The Spirit has adult motivations that separate him from your usual superhero stuff."

And the trailer:

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

Assorted notes:

• Wondering how long they're gonna keep up this baby thing in Cable? Duane Swierczynski stated that as the series goes on, the girl will grow--and specifically mentioned stories with her as a four year-old down the road.
• Orson Scott Card on Iron Man, the character he writes for the Ultimate Universe: "My first impression of the character was that Iron Man is the stupidest hero I've ever seen. He has three full time jobs. He's an inventor, the CEO of a huge company, and he still finds time to put on a suit and go save individual people. It seemed very silly to me."
• Orson Scott Card announced he is writing an Ender's Game comic that will come out in Fall 2008.
• LucasArts finally answered one of my burning questions about the new game The Force Unleashed: If you are Vader's secret apprentice, why do all the trailers show you killing stormtroopers and blowing up Imperial ships? The answer is that you are so secret of an apprentice that Vader doesn't even want the Emperor to know about you, and that means no witnesses. I don't buy that Vader would be hiding anything from the Emperor between Episodes III and IV, but AHR has a pretty good argument for it. Ask her about it sometime.

More Dark Knight Bootleg: The 7 Minute Scene

Here's the 7-minute scene that Warner Brothers screened for press and prize-winners. Geekanerd's invitation must have gotten lost in the mail. The scene follows a bank heist pulled by the Joker's henchmen. We don't see much of the J-Man himself, but his character is revealed by the way the thugs talk about him, and the machinations of how the heist is carried out. Plus character actor extraordinaire Fred Wolf shows up with a big old shot gun. All in all it's a pretty sweet scene, and if you have any will power at all and are really looking forward to this movie, I'd recommend restraining yourself, as the quality of this trailer is truly wretched. Muddy sound, only half the screen at times, and some audience member douche making inane comments like "That's him!" Still, it's after the jump if you want it, at least till WB takes it down. (UPDATE: They did, but I added a new one)

Update 12/15: Newsarama reports the new Dark Knight trailer finally hit the net in beautiful officially sanctioned high res. Check it.

UPDATE: They keep taking the video down, and people keep posting new ones.

Good stuff. It's a solidly entertaining scene, though with more of an action movie than comic book movie feel, which could be said of Batman Begins in general. Hey, if it works, it works. The build-up to the Joker is more exciting than his actual appearance, but I was pleased to see him casually shoot a henchman, a classic Joker gag that gets me every time.

7-Minute Dark Knight Prologue to Screen With I Am Legend IMAX

It's well known by now that The Dark Knight will be shooting four action sequences on IMAX cameras, and now word comes down that there will be a DK "prologue" featuring The Joker showing before the IMAX screenings of the Will Smith post-apocalypflick I Am Legend. When did IMAX become the next big thing?

Via /Film.

Mondo Monday Movie Update:Astroboy, Everquest, Anaconda Oh My!

Caine's High Praise for Ledger's Joker: "He's Not Jack"

To all you thinking that Heath Ledger will be doing a Jack Nicholson impression for his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight (I won't name names, but believe me, there are some within the G'nerd halls), take these words straight from Michael Caine's mouth: "He’s fantastic. He’s gone in a different direction than Jack… Jack was like a really scary old, nasty old uncle with a funny face. Heath is like the most murderous psychopath you’ve ever seen on the screen... [he] frightened the bloody life out of me… It’s amazing and it’s so different from Jack."

Via /film.

Hit the jump for a first look at Astroboy, Kevin Smith getting shot down, Frank Miller getting more ladies and Warner Bros getting rid of 'em.

First Look: Astroboy

I must admit I've never read the manga nor seen the animated series, but this little robot boy is a big deal in his home country of Japan and don't be surprised if his CGI movie is the big crossover success he needs to take over America as well. First time director Colin Brady says he is "being faithful to [Astroboy creator Osamu] Tezuka's original story arc and at the same time bringing out elements needed for those unfamiliar with the story." From the image they just released, it looks like they've done a pretty good job maintaining the look of the 2D incarnation, though perhaps with slightly drabber colors than the original. Slated for a 2009 release.

Via Empire.

The Spirit Gets All the Ladies...

Two more lovely ladies have joined the lady train also known as Frank Miller's Will Eisner's The Spirit. Now we have Jamie King (Sin City) as phantom siren Lorelei and Paz Vega (Spanglish) as the knife-wielding Plaster of Paris. For a guy whose comics have such a misogynistic bent, he sure has a way of rounding up hordes of women to do his bidding. The full roster now, in addition to these two, is Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, and Stana Katic.

Via Variety.

And Warner Bros Hates All the Ladies

After disappointing returns from Jodie Foster's The Brave One and Nicole Kidman's The Invasion, Warner Bros president of production Jeff Robinov has made a new decree that "We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead." Snap! Apparently he doesn't even want to see a script with a woman in the primary position. Sounds like somebody is looking for a scapegoat for all the shitty movies he's been signing off on.

Via Deadline Hollywood.

Avi Arad Bringing Everquest to the Big Screen

The guy whose name you've seen at the beginning of every Marvel movie you can remember has been away from the House of Ideas for about a year now and is trying to make some waves. His first flick, Bratz, didn't go over so well with a meager $22mil in box office, and after his next toy "adaptation" Robosapien he will be taking on the computer MMORPG Everquest. 300 screenwriter Michael Gordon is on board, and he has a lot of work to do... Taking a generic fantasy setting with no central character and making it interesting to a bunch of fans that have long moved on to World of Warcraft? Unpleasant job.

Via Empire.

Weinsteins Pass on Kevin Smith's Red State

Possibly feeling a bit burned from their last attempt at concept horror (Grindhouse), the Weinstein's (who have been behind every Smith film but Mallrats) have decided not to have a hand in Kevin Smith's Red State. Smith says: "It’s the first time Harvey and Bob have passed on anything I’ve wanted to do, but if they were gonna pass on anything, this’d be the one to do it on... I get excited thinking about having to raise financing for our hot potato of a flick." Smith also posted the initial e-mail response he got from Harvey, who says "Your new script is quite disturbing and challenging, a departure from what I’m used to reading from you." I don't know about you guys, but all this talk makes me much more interested in the flick.

Via /film.

The Hoff Signs Up for Anaconda 3... And 4!

Distraught that he isn't involved in either of the Knight Rider movies and sick of eating hamburgers off the ground, David Hasselhoff is looking for a paycheck from two made-for-TV sequels to the revered Anaconda series. He'll be playing a "mercenary-for-hire who accepts a mission from a billionaire to capture a dangerous snake that could possibly help cure a terminal illness." MmHm.

Via Empire.

Dark Knight Stills - The Joker, The Scarecrow, and Vigilante Brutality

Ooh! So a bunch of studio stills from The Dark Knight have shown up online, supposedly via some Flickr account, but let's put aside that odd mystery and concentrate on two very exciting developments - our first real up close and personal look at the newest incarnation of DC's most murderous rouge, and confirmation of the Cillian Murphy cameo!

First, is this or is this not Cillian Murphy, second from the left? I say - proof positive!

They appear to be in a garage, which would link up with this fan video:

Yay, more Cillian! Hope he isn't there just to die! Probably is!

After the jump, it's Joker time!
Via Solace In Cinema

This is certainly the most "realistic" version of the Joker I've ever seen. The lack truly green hair shows how they're really trying to avoid going over the top in these movies. Also, only J-Man's face appears to be white, which to me says that either A) Just his head gets dunked or B) The white face is make-up, and maybe his only real physical transformation is the cut up smile. That scarred smile sure doesn't look like the result of an acid bath, perhaps his origin story will be completely different in this movie.

Check out the chair barricaded against the door - hardcore, Bats. I can't believe we have to wait a year for this movie.

Lots more pics at Solace In Cinema.

New Teaser Site and Trailer for The Dark Knight

Well, I can't attest that the site is new, only that I haven't seen it before. It has some goodies including pics of Joker wannabes and a police report detailing some recent disturbance they were involved in. Can't say I know what the heck that's all about, but the site also has a big teaser trailer that doesn't have much to recommend it other than the first taste of Heath Ledger's Joker voice. Sounds aight! In other Dark Knight news, here is Heath himself showing Maggie Gyllenhaal his knife:
Looks aight!

Thanks for the tip, Johnny!

Comic Con Goods: Sweeney Todd and Watchmen Posters

Sweeney Todd and Watchmen are the two upcoming screen adaptations that I'm most looking forward to. That said, I am much, much, much more excited about Sweeney Todd. What's my problem, you ask? Well, while Geeknerd deservedly focuses on comics, movies and games, the truly GREATEST popular art of our lifetime is the work of composer Stephen Sondheim, and Sweeney Todd is his masterpiece. And while this blog doesn't cover theater geekery, trust me, this movie is going to blow all the expectations of all non-belivers to ribbons. When Johnny Depp as Sweeney gets going, he'll show those torture-porn directors what blood-letting is really about.

Granted, Tim Burton hasn't made a great film in over a decade. But I have it on good authority that the Sweeney movie does justice to the genius of the source, and this poster sure strikes the right tone. Maybe Tim used up all his Brilliance Points on Ed Wood back in 1994, and it's taken till now to build them back up again. This poster from Comic Con strikes exactly the right tone.

Image via JustJared.

Check out the Watchmen teaser poster after the jump.

The Watchmen poster I'm less impressed by. While this poster also classes it up by using a new image from artist Dave Gibbons, at this point all I care about is seeing is what this cast of young'ins is going to look like in action. Nice of of them to align themselves with the source material for all to see, but it really is a teaser in the meanest sense of the word. Give us costumes!

Image via Newsarama via some cool dude's Flickr account.

Scarecrow Can't Get Enough of Bats

SuperHeroHype.com has a behind the scenes sneak peek at the set of the Batman Begins sequel, and apparently Cillian Murphy is back to reprise his role as The Scarecrow! Check out the full story over on their site.

The Dark Knight Gets a Bicycle For Father's Day

Continuing our compulsion to pass on every morsel of info related to the next Batflick, a new vehicle was pimped to the press yesterday. This, my friends, is the "Batpod," as revealed by the LA Times in a pretty interesting little article that talks about the stunt driver and construction of the thing (the engines are in the wheels!).

Can't see the bike through the shadows? Well check out this video of Al Roker and Meredith Viera playing with it on The Today Show.

Brief impressions after the jump.

I guess it's cool... I never liked the Batman Begins-mobile, and though I like this better I'm still not convinced I'm going to enjoy the inevitable chase scene where he zips under things and jumps over things and shoots things with those weird cannons and whatnot. I prefer my Batman swooping down upon muggers from the rooftops. Roads are so pedestrian.