Diary Entry #8

So I know that I haven’t been keeping up with my Diary for some weeks, but I have finally found the time to come back around and give you wonderful readers some movie and TV updates from this past week. Last time in Diary Entry we covered some casting news and a renewal of a popular Netflix show. However, if you are like me, the big news last time was an epic trailer reveal from a galaxy far, far away. This week in the Diary Entry, we are going cover a fantasy novel finally finding a TV home, a couple sequels I have to question, and some director/casting news…Let’s do this!

TV News: Back in 2001, popular fantasy novelist Neil Gaiman (The Graveyard Book) wrote a grand novel named American Gods. Gaiman’s novel garnered millions of fans and even more speculation on when his novel would be adapted either for the big screen or the small screen. Well the wait is over as premium cable channel Starz has greenlight the adaption for a series. No casting has been announced (stay tuned here for that), but is due to begin soon. With Bryan Fuller (NBC’s Hannibal) and Michael Green (Heroes) at the helm of this project I couldn’t be more excited. Having read the book, I understand the scale that the novel has and I know that these two showrunners also understand that fact. Both of these guys’ shows are amazing, so I am stoked to see what kind of show they can create from this novel.

Sequel News: Well guys Disney is at it again…creating another sequel that we don’t need, nor really want. After the success of Maleficent, Disney has decided to milk this story for all it’s worth by producing a meaningless and unneeded sequel to a movie that seemed to wrap up its story pretty tightly. I didn’t care for the first one and I know that a sequel will be just as pointless. I hope that Angelina Jolie is smart and stays away from this a far as she can. I think that we can chalk this idea under the stupid column.

More Sequel News: Speaking of useless sequels, Dimension Films and Trancas International Films have decided to bring back classic horror movie villain Michael Myers in another Halloween sequel. No plot details have been released, so to which timeline (Rob Zombie’s or the original’s) this film will follow no one knows. I am literally at a loss for words right now. Unless Halloween Returns (title of the new film by the way) has some way of magically reinventing a story that has driven itself into the ground, I don’t see this being a good idea. Of course this is me being naïve into thinking that this project has anything else to with but money. As profitable as this franchise is, I wish that Hollywood would stop trying to beat an already obliterated horse.

Casting/Star Wars News: Finally getting some headway on the Anthology films, Disney and LucasFilm is in negotiations with amazing actor Forest Whitaker (Upcoming Southpaw) for a role in Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One. Taking place right before Episode VI: A New Hope, Rogue will follow a group of rebels and their attempt to steal the plans for the Death Star. Whitaker will be a great addition to this cast solely for his strong screen presence. Also, Whitaker will bring more prestige to the film like Liam Neeson or Alec Guinness did for earlier Star Wars films.  

Director News: The “Ragin’ Cajun” has found his director. Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt has been hired by 20^th Century Fox to take the helm of the upcoming standalone X-film Gambit. I couldn’t be more excited for this! I loved Rise because Wyatt was so magnificent at blended the science and the reality so seamlessly. Wyatt also made sure that the story was a main focus and not a special effects spectacle. I think that Wyatt will be able to bring everything that X-fans love about Gambit and some.

All right folks…that is it for this week. Stay tuned for next week’s Dairy Entry.