Watchmen Movie Trailer and First Look Photos

As long as you didn’t see Tuesday night’s sneak preview of The Dark Knight (where for some reason they showed a trailer for Terminator Salvation) you were treated to the very first trailer for Zack Snyder’s Watchmen. I don’t know about you guys, but that might have been the best movie trailer I’ve ever seen! If you haven’t seen The Dark Knight or just want to watch the trailer again, check out the very first Watchmen trailer below:



While I respectfully disagree, most comic fans will say the 1986 Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons limited series is one of, if not the, best and most influential comic books ever created. The book is amazing and did usher in a new wave of writers and mature themed comics, I just don’t think it is the end all be all of comics like many other comic books fans do. But, if you’ve never read a comic book or haven’t read one in 10-20 years and are looking for an incredible story to get you back into the medium, then the Watchmen graphic novel is an excellent place to start.


I am pretty excited to see the movie though, because like most comic fans, I never thought this movie would ever be made because it simply couldn’t be properly adapted to the silver screen while running in at under 3 hours. There’s just too much story to be told, and that is probably why Watchmen writer Alan Moore was so adamant that his masterpiece should never be turned into a feature film.

Nevertheless, and against Moore’s wishes, the Watchmen movie is nearing completion and will be hitting theaters on March 6th, 2009. If you haven’t seen this week’s Entertainment Weekly Comic-Con special with the Watchmen on the cover you should really pick it up or head over to EW.com. Not only is the cover pretty sweet, but both the magazine and website have an exclusive first look at the movie with some really great stills of all of the Watchmen characters.

Erick Scarecrow - Kissaki SDCC Sandstorm Exclusive

While I’ve never really collected any of Erick Scarecrow’s work, I’ve really enjoyed the last few pieces to come from his company ESC Toy, including his designer vinyl figures Liberty, Soopa Coin-Up Bros. and Dizign from his new Old Skool Kajiu series. But my favorite figure of his, hands down, is his latest release Kissaki (Point of the Blade) vinyl figure. While Kissaki debuted at the 2008 New York Comic-Con with an exclusive Avenger colorway, it is the San Diego Comic-Con 2008 Sandstorm Edition that blew me away. There is just something about this blue on brown Kissaki colorway that I find stunning and the little details blow me away.


You can find the Kissaki SDCC Sandstorm Exclusive at the Toy Tokyo booth #5237. The figure is limited to 300 pieces and will be sold for $69.99. Erick will also be making his first appearance ever at San Diego Comic-Con doing an exclusive signing at the Toy Tokyo booth Friday, July 25th, and Saturday, July 26th, from 10am-1pm.

And Here We Go - The Dark Knight Breaks All Opening Weekend Records

I could go on and on about The Dark Knight, but I probably don’t need to because according to the numbers from this past weekend everyone and their mother has already seen the film. It is no surprise that The Dark Knight out grossed previous record holder Spider-Man 3 to claim the title of highest grossing opening weekend ever with a tally of $158.4 million. (link) The Dark Knight also claimed three other impressive records, “including biggest single-day haul ($66.4 million), biggest midnight screening ($18.5 million) and best debut in IMAX ($6.4 million).” (link) It was also the centerpiece to the biggest three-day weekend over all box office ever, with a record industry intake of $258 million. (link)

I am really interested in seeing if The Dark Knight is able to build upon this impressive opening weekend. With the amazing buzz it has garnered already, it should hopefully make a strong push to some huge domestic and international numbers. I think its dark tone does hurt it some, and I will be interested in seeing how the movie’s audience broke down by age. If parents ended up being ok with their children seeing the movie then the sky is the limit for its eventual final numbers. But, it will be really hard to live up to its huge opening weekend numbers without the under 13 demographic.


Aly and I were debating all weekend the impact Ledger’s death had on the movie, but both of us agreed on how amazing his performance of the Joker truly was. The movie was great, but it was his portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime that really put it over the top. To be honest I didn’t love the ending. But with a third installment in the Batman franchise all but guaranteed, I guess that’s the type of ending we had to have to leave the door open for Batman’s return to the silver screen few years down the road. The Dark Knight might just be my favorite movie in recent memory. I think I am going to have to see it again this weekend to truly appreciate all of the Joker’s little nuances. If this is to be Ledger’s final performance, oh what a performance it was!

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

The Blot had a killer birthday weekend. Not only did I get to finally see The Dark Knight in IMAX, but I got a sweet Joker Variant Dr. Destruction figure and got to watch the ridiculously awesome Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. I should have written about Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog before it came out, but for some reason I never knew when it was going to debut until it was much too late.


You see it’s not actually a blog at all, but a three part musical miniseries created by Joss Whedon during the writers strike. Whedon described it as “the story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he’s too shy to talk to,” and best of all it stars How I Met Your Mother’s Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion (Desperate Housewives, Firefly) and Felicia Day. Let me just say it’s awesomeness is indescribable.

While the musical was originally aired for free all of last week, all three Acts were taken down as of midnight last night. I actually didn’t get to watch it until this weekend, because when I tried to watch Act One on Tuesday I learned that the site had gotten so many hits it crashed and fried the servers almost instantly upon release. Talk about the power of the fans of the Whedon-verse! I really don’t want to go into much detail about the show since in total it is under 45 minutes long, but trust me it’s really good and definitely worth a viewing.

If you missed out and would like to see Whedon at his musical best, you can download all three parts here on iTunes for $3.99 or wait for it on DVD, which will have some of “the finest and bravest extras in all the land.” (link) More details about the DVD will be released later in the week at San Diego Comic-Con 2008. Until then enjoy the official trailer of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog:

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations - Saudi Arabia

The Blot is pleased to bring a new feature to The Blot Says… every Monday where I will spotlight that week’s new episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. I’ve become a little obsessed with Bourdain’s travels and culinary adventures over the past two years, and hope these posts will spark some interest in his amazing Travel Channel show. Each week I’ll be posting an entertaining new promo video highlighting that week’s destination. This week Tony returns to the Middle East to visit Saudi Arabia, and you can get your first look at tonight's episode right now by checking out this 30 second promo:



This week’s No Reservations is a very special fan episode in which Bourdain's guide around Saudi Arabia is the winner of No Reservations' FAN-atic Casting Call, Danya Alhamrani. The FAN-atic Casting Call was a contest where fans of No Reservations could submit videos to convince Tony why he should visit a location they were passionate about and the eventual winner would be featured in an episode of the show. If you’re interested in seeing how Danya Alhamrani was chosen as the winner of the No Reservations' Casting Call, which ultimately brought Bourdain to Saudi Arabia, check out the promo video below:



Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations airs every Monday night at 10/9c on the Travel Channel.

Psych Season Three Premieres Tonight

Those loveable fake psychics from the Psych Detective Agency return tonight, Friday July 18, at 10/9C with an all new season of quick-witted comedy high jinx mixed with a little freelance crime solving. James Roday’s Shawn Spencer and Dule Hill’s Burton “Gus” Guster might just be the best crime solving duo currently on TV, and the show fits right in with the USA Network’s catch phrase of “Character’s Welcomed.”


While many would say USA’s current run of amazing original programming started with the debut of Monk or The Dead Zone, I would respectively disagree. It’s the debut of Psych that really solidified the channel’s quirky off-centered comedy and crime/adventure line-up, bridging the gap between the two genres perfectly. If you haven’t been watching Psych on USA, you should definitely set your DVR to record it before heading out on the town tonight. With new episodes of Psych, Burn Notice and In Plain Sight airing all summer long on USA, the basic cable channel may just be solidifying itself as THE destination for original programming during the big four networks’ summer hiatus.

And, if you need a quick Psych fix before tonight’s episode (and the debut of Cybill Shepherd as Shawn's long absent mother), then I highly suggest checking out this Psych promo that’s been airing on the USA Network for the past few weeks. Roday and Hill are often seen singing and goofing around at the end of each episode of Psych in the show’s aptly named blooper real “Psych-Out.” In this television spot the duo sings the classic duet by Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney “Ebony and Ivory.” You can watch the “Ebony and Ivory” Psych TV ad below, and tune in tonight at 10/9C for the Season Three premiere of Psych.

Finally The Dark Knight Debuts

It’s the weekend we’ve all been waiting for, the world premiere of The Dark Knight! Well actually the movie premiered nine hours ago at 12:01 am, but you get the point. I really don’t know what I’m going to blog about now that the movie’s opening weekend is finally here.


It feels like Batman and the Joker are everywhere right now. Every news outlet and website in the world seems to be talking about The Dark Knight and I still haven’t seen a bad review. USAToday gave the movie 4 out of 4 stars yesterday and it has a freshness rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes with a general consensus that the movie is “dark, complex and unforgettable, The Dark Knight succeeds not just as an entertaining comic book film, but as a richly thrilling crime saga.” (link) Finally DC Comics and Warner Bros. does something right! I am getting goose bumps just thinking about seeing it.

Now, I don’t know how many readers of The Blot Says… braved the elements to camp out and see the 12:01 am, 3:00 am or 6:00 am viewings, but please no spoilers because I won’t get to see the film until 10:15 pm tonight at our local IMAX theater. I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts and impressions of it though, so definitely leave your reviews of the film in this post’s comment section. I hope everyone is able to get out and see The Dark Knight this weekend, I’m predicting one of the biggest, if not the biggest, opening weekend in movie history.

2008 Emmy Nominations Announced

The 2008 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations were announced this morning and the 60th edition of the premiere television awards show is shaping up to be a great one. The Blot is extremely happy to see many of The Blot Says…' favorite shows nominated for multiple awards this year including Lost making its long awaited return to the Best Drama Series category. I was also really pleased to see Best Supporting Actor/Actress nominations go to How I Met Your Mothers’ Neil Patrick Harris and Pushing Daisies’ Kristin Chenoweth in the comedy categories and Damages’ Ted Danson and Lost’s Michael Emerson in the drama category. And how can you not be excited to hear that 30 Rock led all comedies with 17 nominations. Plus, can someone tell me when was the last time someone from Saturday Night Live was nominated for an Acting award?


On the surface it appears there is some sick competition in both the Actor in a Comedy Series and Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series races, but the real story is the huge number of nominations in the Drama categories going to original programming from basic cable channels (i.e. not "pay cable channels" like HBO or Showtime). AMC’s Mad Men led all dramas with 16 nominations, while other cable dramas Damages, Breaking Bad, Saving Grace, Rescue Me, Nip/Tuck and The Closer all pulled in nominations in major acting categories.

You can watch the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards live on ABC Sunday, September 21st at 8/7c.

60th Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations
COMEDY SERIES
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
The Office
30 Rock
Two and a Half Men

ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Kevin Dillon, Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Rainn Wilson, The Office

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
Jean Smart, Samantha Who?
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty

GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Will Arnett, 30 Rock
Shelley Berman, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Steve Buscemi, 30 Rock
Tim Conway, 30 Rock
Rip Torn, 30 Rock

GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Polly Bergen, Desperate Housewives
Edie Falco, 30 Rock
Carrie Fisher, 30 Rock
Kathryn Joosten, Desperate Housewives
Sarah Silverman, Monk
Elaine Stritch, 30 Rock

DRAMA SERIES
Boston Legal
Damages
Dexter
House
Lost
Mad Men

ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
James Spader, Boston Legal

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Glenn Close, Damages
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Ted Danson, Damages
Michael Emerson, Lost
Zeljko Ivanek, Damages
William Shatner, Boston Legal
John Slattery, Mad Men

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Candice Bergen, Boston Legal
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy

GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Charles Durning, Rescue Me
Robert Morse, Mad Men
Oliver Platt, Nip/Tuck
Stanley Tucci, ER
Glynn Turman, In Treatment
Robin Williams, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Ellen Burstyn, Big Love
Diahann Carroll, Grey's Anatomy
Sharon Gless, Nip/Tuck
Anjelica Huston, Medium
Cynthia Nixon, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

My Name Is Bruce Teaser Movie Poster

The Blot’s never been too shy about sharing my adoration for B-movie icon Bruce Campbell. From the first time I watched him play Ash in the Evil Dead trilogy (Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness) I was hooked. Whether he’s headlining B-movies like Bubba Ho-Tep (which if you haven’t seen yet you really need to rent) or playing bit parts in summer blockbuster movies like the Spider-Man trilogy, Campbell always exudes a “deadpan and somewhat sarcastic comic delivery” that The Blot can’t get enough of. (link) So, when I heard Campbell was making his directorial debut this fall with the release of his new film My Name is Bruce, written by Battlestar Galactica scribe Mark Verheiden,” I got really excited. (link)


Now I have no clue if My Name Is Bruce will be good, but I do know it’ll be one of a kind. The movie centers “around a group of fans who mistaken Campbell for his movie alter ego Ash and kidnap him to help them fight a Chinese war deity.” (link) It sounds like exactly the kind of crazy, “only in movies” type of plot that you can come to expect from a Bruce Campbell B-movie.

You can currently catch Campbell every Thursday night on USA’s Burn Notice or watch him on DVD in any number of television box sets including instant classics like The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess. He has also proven to be an excellent writer with his autobiographical NY Times best seller If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor and his fictional 2005 novel Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way. If all this hasn’t gotten you extremely pumped for the upcoming theatrical release of My Name Is Bruce, scheduled for October 2008 followed immediately by its DVD release in January 2009, then I don’t know what will.

What Was Stephon Marbury Thinking!?!

If you haven’t heard already, the NBA’s most overrated point guard, Stephon Marbury, decided to get the logo of his sneaker, the Starbury, tattooed on his temple. Look, I’m all for capitalism, but who has a logo tattooed on their face!??! I don’t care if the sneaker is named after his horrible nickname of Starbury, a 31 year old multi-millionaire just doesn’t need to be shilling for his kicks that badly.


On the other hand, Marbury should be commended for what he’s done with his line of Starbury sneakers. He released a “designer” shoe named after a legit NBA player at an affordable price (all footwear is $15 or less), so that under-privileged kids never have to be ashamed of their sneakers. Marbury has teamed up with retailer Steve & Barry’s in this endeavor, which gives the sportswear chain the exclusive right to sell the Starbury line of footwear. It really is an amazing business model created by Marbury and he should be commended for it. But I still can’t get over his decision to adorn his face with the company’s logo. Could you imagine if MJ had tattooed Nike’s Jumpman on his face!?!