Breaking news: March 6th = Game of Thrones on disc!!!

Finally! Rather than get it out in time for the holidays, HBO has decided to coordinate the DVD and Blu-ray release of Game of Thrones first season to coincide with the premiere of season 2 (tentatively in April), and will be releasing the first seaon box set on March 6th. Home video revenue will be a factor in the show's budget, so the channel has opted to deliver a deluxe presentation overflowing with high-end bonus content reminiscent of what New Line did for The Lord of the Rings Extended Editions. Feast your eyes:

Complete Guide to Westeros
“An interactive compendium of the noble houses and lands featured in season one.”

Making Game of Thrones
“An exclusive 30-minute feature including never-before-seen footage from the set and interviews from the cast and crew.”

Character Profiles
“Profiles of 15 major characters as described by the actors portraying them.”

Creating the Show Open
“An inside look at the creation of the Emmy-winning opening title sequence for Game of Thrones.”

From the Book to the Screen
“Executive producers David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, and author George R.R. Martin talk about the challenges of bringing Martin’s epic fantasy novel to life on HBO.”

The Night’s Watch
“An in-depth look at the unique order of men who patrol and protect the Wall, a 700 foot ice structure that separates the Seven Kingdoms from the darkness beyond.”

Creating the Dothraki Language
“An insightful glance into the comprehensive language created for the Dothraki people in Game of Thrones.”

Audio Commentaries
“Seven audio commentaries with Cast and Crew including David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, George R.R. Martin, Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, and more.”

BLU-RAY ONLY: ALL THE FEATURES ABOVE PLUS:

Blu-ray Complete Guide to Westeros
“An interactive compendium of the noble houses and lands featured in season one, PLUS 24 exclusive histories of the Seven Kingdoms as told by the characters themselves.”

In-Episode Guide
“In-feature resource that provides background information about on-screen characters, locations, and relevant histories while each episode plays.”

Anatomy of an Episode
“An in-episode experience that explores the creative minds and colossal efforts behind episode six, ‘A Golden Crown.’”

Hidden Dragon Eggs
“Find the hidden dragon eggs to uncover even more never-before-scene content.”

There’s no mention of deleted scenes from the series - but producers claim they used almost everything they shot, so the "Dragon" eggs may be of particular interest on this score.

Looks like this set is going to be well worth the wait!

Catching up...

Back after a holiday hiatus!

Awards season is getting in gear, with silent film The Artist winning the New York Film Critics Circle. The black-and-white film from Michel Hazanavicius is rapidly becoming a front-runner, also leading with five Independent Spirit nominations. You gotta love that - six months ago, he was unknown and unpronounceable. Now he's threatening to eclipse Scorsese and Spielberg. Let the games begin.

Between mouthfuls of stuffing and cranberry sauce, I've managed to see a few things recently -

A Lonely Place to Die - This British stab at survival horror starts off promisingly with some fantastic outdoor action, echoing films like Eden Lake, Cliffhanger, The Descent and even Deliverance. Sadly, the second half is pretty pedestrian and severely boring, compared to what's come previously.

Melancholia- At first, I thought I hated this film, but it stays with you and has kept me thinking. While Kirsten Dunst's character was annoying the heck out of me, an awful lot of hindsight starts to sink in during the film's final act. Narcissism, deperession and the end of the world - I wish I'd been a lot less exhausted when I watched it, as there's a lot going on here and love it or hate it, you're not likely to be bored. See it and decide for yourself. It's available OnDemand. The post-movie discussions this film must provoke...!

There are very few "once in a lifetime" moments at the movies, but our family had the pleasure of experiencing one this weekend when we took our little boy to his very first movie ever, The Muppets. Being a Sesame Street fan, he was pretty much pre-sold, but The Muppets is a terrific breath of fresh air. Flight of the Conchords director James Bobin and Jason Segel bring enormous affection for the original show to a completely enjoyable and inventive family film that skews demographics. I'd have liked a bit less humans and a bit more Muppets when it comes to the musical numbers, but you owe it to yourself to see Jason Segel's rendition of "I'm a Muppet of a Man." Pretty amazing to have your little boy sitting on your lap, gazing up at Kermit and the gang. How nice that our beloved felt pals didn't disappoint.

And speaking of what's old becoming new again, in the frenzy of Cyber-Monday video mayhem, I would be remiss indeed if I didn't mention the at-long-last availability of The Six Million Dollar Man on DVD. Previously only available in an embarrassingly over-priced "complete series" set, Amazon now has individual seasons up for grabs - season 1 even includes the first three pilot movies!  It's been a long, long time since I've seen this fantastic slice of the Seventies and I can't wait!

Season 2 glimpse: A Game of Thrones (aka Clash of Kings)!!!

It's only an HBO promotional spot, but pretty exciting (and spoiler-free), for anyone else out there who's going through major withdrawal. Some tantalizing glimpses to be seen!

Season 2 - In Production

Another show bites the dust...!

Tune in tonight! Last Fringe of the year!

Just a quick reminder that Fringe goes on fall hiatus after tonight's episode - the show will return after the holidays in mid-January 2012.


Don't be surprised if the show serves up a major cliffhanger to keep us on the hook.Fringe has been fascinating once again this year, always changing things. I'm still obsessing over that UFO lunchbox we saw a couple of weeks ago! A nod to Joshua Jackson's involvement in a new film version, or something more?

In other late-breaking news, Steven Soderbergh has walked away from The Man From U.N.C.L.E. reboot. Probably with good reason, too. When recent news had Channing Tatum up for the role of Napoleon Solo, it became clear that things were messed up beyond repair. I mean, that's like casting Shia LaBeouf as John Steed.

Another fascinating tidbit, Hugo star Asa Butterfield has been offered the lead in an adaptation of Orson Scott Card's Hugo Award-winning science fiction classic Ender's Game. Great news that this book may become a film. Marvel Comics has been doing a nice job of adapting the books into comic form. You can check out a preview here.

That's all for now - have a great weekend, everybody!

Meet the Swede!

Hell on Wheels may still be finding its legs, but they've thrown down what may be the coolest new character on TV, with Christopher Heyerdahl's "The Swede."

Tall and otherworldly, The Swede is in charge of camp security for railroad boss Thomas Durant (Colm Meaney).    Imagine if Godfather II's young Vito Corleone had been played by Max Von Sydow instead of De Niro and you'll have an idea of how formidable The Swede is.

A genere vet of such productions as Stargate: Atlantis, Caprica and The Twilight movies, Hyerdahl steals the whole show. His monologue about internment at the infamous Andersonville military prison is absolutely riveting. You definitely want to check him out in this episode. Here's hoping The Swede become a major presence on this still very promising western saga. So far, so good!

Tube-worthy

Time to find the thermometer and take Fall TV's temperature. Who's got a fever?

SONS OF ANARCHY - I'm not sure if the show has ever been better. This year is playing like it's a series finale and all bets are off. Things are so extreme right now and behaviors have grown so divisive that I literally have no idea how they'll manage to keep these characters together for another season. Way to raise the stakes, guys. I'm on the edge of my chair.


HOMELAND - Running wild in its first season and already renewed, Homeland is fascinating. One great big rotting onion of conspiracy layers and pseudo-truths, many a dangerous game appears to be in play and the cast and scripts are top-notch. 24 with brains and very addictive.

HELL ON WHEELS - The pilot owed a lot to Deadwood but it was creative, nicely staged and never dragged. Supporting players like Colm Meaney, Ted Levine and Tom Noonan keep the atmosphere ripe and authentic. Hoping they build momentum and pull this off. Much better than initial reviews would have you think.






THE WALKING DEAD - Uh, what blog are you reading, anyway? Post-Darabont Dead is dynamite and gets more intense each week. Superb series you are crazy not to watch.

FRINGE - Friday's episode was stupendous! The 4th season is going great guns and anything but predictable. Fringe goes on fall hiatus after this next Friday's episode then returns after the holidays in mid-January 2012. So you better drink your fill on the 18th!


AMERICAN HORROR STORY - Word has it this show is getting better, but I just got turned off by the pilot. Too depressing and smug to keep me tuned in.

PRIME SUSPECT - Loved, loved, loved this show at first. But it's almost like they decided to "fix" it when the ratings weren't strong enough. New "upbeat" and smile-filled opening credits, more emphasis on Jane's wacky gang of male fellow detectives - is this a Lowenbrau commercial? Lots of ham-fisted comedy and Jane's dad is all Eugene O'Neal Irish weepy now. He was cool at first! One more sprinting foot-chase of a suspect and I'm out of here. This show came out of the gate smart and unique. Now it's turning into non-dairy creamer. Reverse course, NBC!


GRIMM and WHITECHAPEL - Missed both of these and am thinking I need to revisit as word is strong on both these shows. Grimm is filmed right here in Portland, fer cryin' out loud! Sounds like it's got a cool tone and some interesting ideas. Whitechapel is on BBC America and is getting lots of attention for it's dark, London revisit of Saucy Jack's old stomping grounds in modern times. How did I miss that?!

Apes big deal and hell on the range

When you star in a movie that makes $453 million, you figure they'll ask you back for more, but what about when you're unrecognizable and have virtually "no" dialogue? Never fear, as Andy Serkis just closed a hefty seven-figure deal to reprise his role of Caeser in sequels to Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Serkis had only been signed for the one movie, giving his reps some leverage in negotiating his return for future chapters of the ape takeover. Director Rupert Wyatt already had a sequel option as did screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. Apes was one of the bright spots of the summer and left you screaming for a sequel like few movies in recent memory.

Fox says they will wage a Supporting Oscar campaign for Serkis, testing voters' acceptance of actors working in performance-capture roles. Serkis has been a true pioneer, with plans to open his own performance-capture school for actors.

And a quick reminder, AMC rolls Hell on Wheels out of the station tomorrow night at 10. It may not be Deadwood, but as a Western fan, I have to check it out. Fingers crossed...

Bond in motion: Skyfall!

Up until now, "Bond 23" has just been Bond 23 - but now the title has been confirmed: Skyfall, which began filming today in London.

Javier Bardem will be the villain, Naomie Harris as a field agent, Albert Finney and Ralph Fiennes will all be joining Daniel Craig.

Somewhat surprisingly, director Sam Mendes revealed that Skyfall "...is its own story. It doesn't connect with the last two movies." Locations include Shanghai, Istanbul and Scotland.