Category Archives: The Mega-Blog

Your source for the latest and greatest things happening in geek culture, updated daily (or whenever we find something). This is your source for the latest cool stuff in the universe.

Sort of.

It’s where the site’s blog entries go really.

The Mega-Blog

Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘The Sirens of Titan’ Being Adapted for TV by Dan Harmon

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Dan Harmon is an amazing showrunner, and between Community and Rick and Morty the man has brought us two of the most memorable, geeky shows in modern memory. The talented, self loathing writer is taking on a new challenge apparently though, and that’s adapting Kurt Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan for television.

The Sirens of Titan is a 1959 novel by Vonnegut is about a guy named Malachi Constant who’s the richest man in the country. Malachi used his extraordinary luck to build his father’s fortune, but that can’t protect him from the oncoming war between Mars and the Earth. Malachi ends up on a trip with another rich guy, Winston Niles Rumfoord, and mostly it’s a bunch of questions about free will.

So, y’know, a Vonnegut novel.

Harmon is working on the series with Universal Cable Productions, and it’s yet to find a network. Like anything this early in development, as we usually warn people, this could end up going absolutely nowhere. But wouldn’t it be nice if it didn’t.

Via AV Club

The Mega-Blog

The First Trailer For Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Shape of Water’ Has Arrived

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The trailer for director Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water has arrived, and the first thing that probably strikes you is how beautiful the film looks. Of course, it’s a del Toro film, so that’s not terribly surprising. What is surprising is how sweet the trailer feels.

The Shape of Water first appears to be a science fiction creature film on its surface (no pun intended), but really is more of a fairy tale. Doug Jones plays a fish-like creature who has a friendship (and maybe romance) with a mute woman (Sally Hawkins) who cleans the lab he’s being held in. And while it certainly looks sweet, there’s clearly some darkness to the situation.

Honestly, it just looks cool as all get out.

The Shape of Water comes out December 8, 2017

Convention News, The Mega-Blog

Louisville’s Fandom Fest Announces Last Minute Venue Change (As They May Have Never Booked the Old One)

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The Louisville, KY based Fandom Fest is scheduled to take place pretty damned soon (July 28th-30th), and while the venue hadn’t ever been formally mentioned on the con’s official materials this year, with no other location mentioned most people assumed it would continue to be held at the same one it’s been at for years — the Kentucky Expo Center. I mean, the official recommended hotels are all in the vicinity of the Expo Center, and with the con so close (and people planning it for months) it just wouldn’t make sense to announce a venue change now, right?

Well… wrong?

You see, a new venue is exactly what the convention announced on Monday — just eleven days before the event. The con posted the about the change to their official Facebook page, saying the con’s new location was an event space attached to the Jefferson Mall. This new “event space” (read: old, empty former Macy’s department store) isn’t a short walk from their listed hotels — in fact, it’s a fifteen minute drive. Continue reading Louisville’s Fandom Fest Announces Last Minute Venue Change (As They May Have Never Booked the Old One) →

The Mega-Blog

The Trailer For ‘Professor Marston & The Wonder Women’ Goes Into Wonder Woman’s Complicated Creation

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We were given a brief tease back when Wonder Woman hit theaters, but we now finally have a real trailer for the upcoming biopic about her creation — Professor Marston & The Wonder Women. The film is about William Moulton Marston, his wife Elizabeth, and Olive Byrne (who was in a polyamorous relationship with the couple). The film stars Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall, Bella Heathcote, and Connie Britton.

Honestly, it’s an incredibly interesting story, and seeing it translated well to film is an exciting prospect. Polyamory isn’t especially accepted in today’s society, let alone in the 1940’s. It’s a story I don’t think a lot of people outside comics historians are aware of, and it deserves to be told.

Professor Marston & The Wonder Women comes out October 27, 2017.

The Mega-Blog

The ‘Robotech’ Live Action Movie Has a New Director… Is Apparently Still a Thing?

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Remember how Harmony Gold was working on a live action Robotech movie? Someone’s been trying to make this film since 2007. The current iteration was first announced by Warner Bros four years ago, and then sat quietly for two years before they reassured everyone it was still happening. Only about a month after that though, the movie got shuffled over to Sony. And then we heard nothing. For years.

But this is apparently still a thing that is totally happening, though we’re not entirely sure why.

In any case, there’s actual news as Sony has announced the film has found its director in Andy Muschietti. Muschietti is fresh off the forthcoming remake of Stephen King’s IT, and his sister (and creative partner) Barbara Muschietti will be joining Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton as a producer. Nunnari and Canton have been with the project for quite some time already.

Maybe this is the thing that will finally make this movie happen, and maybe it isn’t. In either case, I still find myself wondering “who the heck is this movie for?”

Via Variety

The Mega-Blog

The Original ‘RoboCop’ to Have 30th Anniversary Theatrical Release

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In 1987 the original RoboCop hit theaters, and it was glorious. A mixture of satire, genuinely great action, and a robot that can’t handle stairs, it’s easily in my top five movies from the 1980s. It’s just a really great movie.

In celebration of the film’s 30th anniversary, Alamo Drafthouse will be hosting a one night event on September 10th. Peter Weller will be on hand at an event live streamed from Dallas City Hall (which served as the non-matte painting parts of OCP headquarters) to theaters across the country.

After a screening of the film, Weller will participate in a Q&A session. This event is being presented by Birth.Movies.Death, SYFY, and Alamo Drafthouse, and frankly is pretty damned exciting. Tickets for the event go on sale August 1st, and you can find more information at the event’s official webpage.

This is just neat.

Via THR

The Mega-Blog

The Newest Trailer For ‘Blade Runner 2049’ (Like the Earlier Trailers) Looks Amazing

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Another trailer dropped for the sequel to 1982’s Blade Runner today, and like the last two trailers we saw, this movie sure is going to look pretty. I know that’s not saying much, but hey — it’s better than the trailer not looking amazing.

We get more context for the film’s world in this trailer, along with a lot of cool new footage. Really I don’t have a lot more to say beyond “this movie, at the very least, is going to look really cool.” I mean, it’s a trailer — the only good indicator it can really give us is visual. Like any long delayed sequel to a classic film, I’m nervous. You never know when you’re going to get Rogue One or The Phantom Menace instead.

But hey, I’m optimistic.

Blade Runner 2049 comes out October 6, 2017.

The Mega-Blog

‘Night of the Living Dead’ Director George Romero Has Passed Away

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George Romero, director and co-writer of Night of the Living Dead, has sadly passed away. He died Sunday after a short but deadly battle with lung cancer. He was 77 years old.

Romero, of course, is best known as the father of modern “Zombie” fiction. Before his seminal work, Zombie’s in movies were much more closely related to their traditional Voodoo counterparts. Romero’s undead were quite different, and though we’ve ascribed the Z-word to them, they really are a very different creation. Romero’s work inspired generations that came after, and without him we would never have had 28 Days Later, World War Z, Shaun of the Dead or The Walking Dead.

The man literally changed the face of a genre.

The best way to remember any creator is through their works, so today we urge you to pull up some of Romero’s and enjoy his films. We can get you started, as (thanks to Archive.org) we’ve embedded Night of the Living Dead in its entirety below.

We’ve lost a legend.

Via LA Times

The Mega-Blog

Martin Landau Has Died at the Age of 89

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Legendary actor Martin Landau sadly passed away on Saturday. According to the actor’s representatives, his death was due to “unexpected complicatons” during what was meant to be a stay at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

Landau had a long, varied career in Hollywood, including roles in North by Northwest and the original Mission: Impossible. He would eventually win an Academy Award for portraying another screen legend, Bela Lugosi, in Tim Burton’s 1994 biopic Ed Wood. Readers of this site will also recall his appearance in 1998’s The X-Files movie and, of course, his role on Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s cult television series Space: 1999.

He also frequently claimed that he’d turned down the role of Mr. Spock in the original Star Trek television series. Whether that’s true or not, imagining anyone other than the late Leonard Nimoy in that part is always a strange concept. The man was a talent, and losing him is a blow to the craft of acting as a whole. He was a unique individual, and the world will miss him.

Martin Landau was 89 years old.

Via THR

The Mega-Blog

Holy Crap, Jodie Whittaker is the Thirteenth Doctor!

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When we learned Peter Capaldi was exiting Doctor Who with this year’s Christmas special, we were honestly saddened. But like with all regenerations of the legendary Time Lord, we immediately got excited trying to guess who would take on the part. Well, the guessing is over, as earlier today the BBC announced that the thirteenth Doctor will be none other than Jodie Whittaker.

Whittaker is best known for Broadchurch, which was created by incoming Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall. She’s also appeared in films like Venus and 2011’s Attack the Block. Oh, and we should probably mention this somewhere, she’s a woman.

At several points in series ten, the show went out of its way to remind the audience that Time Lords could change genders during regenerations. Many hoped that these were clues that we’d see a woman playing the Doctor’s next incarnation, and sometimes it’s very nice to not be disappointed. Capaldi’s shoes are going to be hard to fill, as he’s arguably one of the best Doctors on record. That said, Whittaker is an incredibly talented performer, and should bring something new to the character (beyond her gender).

This is just neat.