This week in the lives of the rich and famous…
We’ve all heard of movie spin-offs of television shows (though they love to make us wait forever — that means you, “Arrested Development”), but have we ever successfully experienced the opposite? Joss Whedon’s upcoming show “S.H.I.E.L.D.” will act as a supplement to “The Avengers,” a movie that embodies all the things independent filmmakers despise about Hollywood.
Our favorite television sidekick is finally stepping into the spotlight. After years of being the only sympathetic and lovable character standing in Walter White’s menacing shadow, Aaron Paul of the hit show “Breaking Bad” will play the lead in the film adaptation of the video game “Need For Speed.” Maybe this will kick White off his throne and Jesse can set things right in the drug world.
Seth MacFarlane can now call his frivolous flick “Ted” the highest grossing comedy of all time. If we’re going to get technical, however, the film is really the highest grossing R-rated, non-sequel comedy in which a stuffed animal has a substantial amount of dialogue. Remember kids, always read the fine print.
Put down the Taylor Swift and journey with me for a moment to new music heaven. Two separately talented artists released a collaborative album in September titled “Love This Giant.” David Byrne of “Talking Heads” and Annie Clark of “St. Vincent” will soon embark on their promotional tour. The style can only be described as experimental alternative and is definitely an acquired taste.
As if the superhero genre doesn’t both cost and make enough money already, “Iron Man 3” and “Thor: The Dark World” will be released in 3-D. As the action becomes more gripping, the 3-D may distract viewers from the other thing superhero films are notorious for: cliché dialogue. Take, for example, these exhilarating last lines: “They’ll come back … because we’ll need them to.”
Speaking of originality, NBC announced Friday it would be hosting another dark television adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s novel “Alice in Wonderland.” This network’s version is titled “Wonderland,” much like the CW’s similarly premised show “Wunderland.” Let’s not forget ABC’s relatively recent show “Once Upon a Time,” which is essentially about the same thing. Don’t be afraid to get creative, TV!
Whitney Port stated Sunday that the former cast of “The Hills” has drifted apart significantly since the show stopped airing. It comes as a surprise to us all that the extremely functional relationships between the cast members were actually quite superficial. The group of wealthy twenty-somethings sadly fell off the radar once people moved on in the realm of television. The only truly shocking part is that Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, one of the most volatile couples to exist on reality TV, are still happily married.
