Hollywood has been remaking old television shows into big screen adventures for years now. It’s been a trend with limited success, and every time you think it’ll die off with something like The Mod Squad,  we get news of another Charlie’s Angels or a big screen McCloud.

Lately, there’s been a weird interest in reviving tv westerns.  Last August, CBS Films announced they were developing a feature film based on Gunsmoke, the legendary series that ran for an exhausting 20 seasons.   Prior to television, it ran for nearly ten years as a radio serial.  No one could get enough of Marshall Matt Dillon back in the day, and apparently he’s due for a modern makeover.

Despite having its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, Gunsmoke was quite edgy for its time. Long before John Ford or Sergio Leone,  Norman MacDonald and John Meston sought to dismantle the cutesy, archtypical Old West that had been seen up until then. They wanted a harder, cruder hero and a more realistic and brutal West. Their Marshall Matt Dillon was no hero in a white hat, and the Dodge City he patrolled was full of shady and violent characters.

It was aimed at adults, and was one of the first radio shows to depict scalping, prostitution, opium addiction, and massacres. Dillon killed a heck of a lot of people, and his creators proudly said that he was as scarred and dangerous as the villains of Dodge City.

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Announced months ago when Fallout 3 was finishing off its five pieces of downloadable content, it was made clear that the Fallout Universe would continue in the events of Fallout: New Vegas. Obsidian Entertainment who is comprised of members of the former Interplay, which created the Fallout series, will be tasked with this new iteration in to their universe.

Vice President of Bethesda Softworks Pete Hines, the developers of Fallout 3 and owners of the Fallout license said, “It’s not a sequel to Fallout 3, it’s just another game in the universe, and it has no impact whatsoever on whatever Todd Howard and his team are working on… We approached Obsidian and they were, like, yeah. That was a pretty easy conversation. It’s not Fallout Tactics, it’s not Brotherhood of Steel; it’s another RPG.”

Featuring voiceover from Ron Perlman and music by Frank Sinatra, the recently revealed Fallout: New Vegas trailer gives a few hints at what may come in the upcoming game and is set for Fall 2010 release.

Long time Fallout fans will recognize the flag of the New California Republic prominently displayed. It looks as though this well-known Fallout faction may be setting their sights on the denizens of the very well lit New Vegas. What the little robot with the seeming multiple personality disorder is searching for still is yet to be unveiled but it is eerie seeing him pick out objects from a makeshift graveyard.

Take a look at the trailer and give us your thoughts on what could be in store for Fallout: New Vegas as we at the Flickcast continue to cover the next step in the Fallout saga.

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HBO is planning a half-hour comedy series with writer-director Bill Condon and Tell Me You Love Me creator Cynthia Mort. The show, titled Tilda, ”centers on a powerful female online showbiz journalist with a no-holds-barred style.” For examples of such a character you can look to online reporters Nikki Finke, Sharon Waxman and Anne Thompson. Entertainment journalists who have made a successful career online.

As traditional news outlets scale down reporting, or go out of business entirely, many reporters have found a new home online. This is especially true for entertainment and celebrity reporting. Given that, it seems only natural for a network like HBO to latch onto this transition and build a show around it.

While there has not been a lot of details about Tilda provided this, in my opinion, could be Sex and the City 2.0. A female lead, who’s a writer, dishing on relationships (in this case about celebrities).  Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

Furthermore, a show such as this is ripe for celebrity cameos, and given the rich talent pool from HBO I’m sure they can pull a few strings to get walk-ons. Being a writer, specifically one who covers entertainment news, I’m interested to see how this show shakes out.

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I swear I heard my keyboard purr when I typed that headline. Those of us who cover weekly box office totals have been in a rut for seven weeks, and like it or loathe it, Dear John gives us something new to talk about.

Despite tepid reviews, Dear John shocked prognosticators by soundly beating Avatar this weekend. Dear John hauled in $32 Million to win the weekend over Avatar, which made an additional $23.6 Million.

I didn’t see Dear John, but I do find it interesting that everyone continues to underestimate the female ticket draw. The book by Nicholas Sparks was very popular, and currently boasts a 4.5 reader’s rating on Barnes and Noble’s web site. Didn’t Hollywood learn anything from New Moon? Rabid female book fans = box office gold.

Side note, I was shocked to receive an email from my very own parents, who have not seen a movie in the theater in over 5 years, sharing that they saw a matinee of Avatar in 3D and loved it. I quote, “We both wanted to live in that forest.”  Um, what?

This coming from a couple who still enjoys dial-up internet. They voluntarily donned 3D glasses because they felt that this movie just had to be seen. I only mention this because this is precisely why the movie has made so much money.  There are people going to see it that don’t ever go to movies, and that is quite a feat.

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The Internet was abuzz last week with reports of a possible Watchmen sequel.  There was some suggestion that in the wake of DC President Paul Levitz stepping down Senior VP Dan DiDio was championing a sequel to the “unfilmable” film directed by Zak Snyder. Further, speculation had DiDio planning multiple spin-off projects based on one of DC’s most profitable comic book runs.

Adding to the confusion, and controversy, was the somewhat untimely use of art by comic book authority Wizard magazine. A portion of the picture depicted Batman laying some smack down on resident Watchmen psychopath Rorschach.

Let me say at this point I loved Watchmen. In fact, I loved it so much I never want a sequel to be made.  Thankfully, it seems, that will never happen…at least from what we’re hearing now.

Deadline.com looked into the Watchmen 2 rumor and a well placed insider stated: “There is no truth to anything related to a movie sequel. Not a chance by a long shot. With regards to the comics, well, I guess anything is possible. I’ll keep my opinion to myself as to whether it’s a smart idea to do so.”

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Much like the shark was in Jaws, I tend to think cool monsters should be left in the shadows and revealed at the last possible moment. I think that definitely should apply to a creature like the Kraken. Apparently, the studio in charge of the upcoming Clash of the Titans movie, Warner Bros. to be exact, doesn’t agree.

In fact, they’ve let the cat, er Kraken, out of the bag way early, in the form of a new poster released exclusively by the folks at UGO. In this latest poster, the Kraken looms large and Perseus is, well, looking rather small. In fact, it looks like he’s about to become a nice late afternoon snack for the Kraken, complete with Pegasus chaser. Not a great way to spend your day.

Click through for a larger look at the new poster. In case you forgot, Clash of the Titans, directed by Louis Leterrier, stars Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Danny Huston and Gemma Arterton. It hits theaters on March 26.

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We’re all pretty big fans of the original Showtime series Weeds around The Flickcast offices. The show has managed to stay strong and innovative since it’s launch back in 2005, with plenty of plot twists and fan favorite cameos. One of the main reasons we love the show so much is the use of the ensemble cast, especially any major story arcs with Andy Botwin, played by Justin Kirk.

We recently got a chance to sit down with Justin about the show, his work on the recently released season five DVD, and where he sees the upcoming season going. One cool feature on the DVD is a collection of the University of Andy web shorts. We asked Justin where the idea came from, and he knew that it was already going to be a success.

The writers had done various web-based content over the years. I don’t know if you remember ‘Good Morning, Agrestic’, which was a faux public access channel, but it was all meant to be for the web and DVD’s, which inevitably turned into a big hit. There’s also a new round out right now. We are only 3 episodes deep into round 2, which is going on right now.

One of the biggest events of this past season was the jump ahead six months and the story progressed. Justin was more than excited about that idea when he first heard about it.

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Do you love movies, TV, comics, games, gadgets and all thing geek? Do you spend tons of time on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites sharing info and opinions with friends? Are you a good writer and have a passion for sharing your insight and opinions in a comprehensive and cohesive manner? If so, we might just have a job for you.

Due to increased demand and for upcoming site changes and launches of new content, we are looking for writers to contrite to the site. It doesn’t matter where you live (although candidates in LA or New York would be greatly appreciated) or what you do for a living, if you love movies, TV, comics, games and all things geek and want to write about them, we want to talk to you.

Drop us a line at the following email for consideration: jobs [at] the flickcast dot com and please include two sample posts in The Flickcast style or a link to your own previous work for consideration. We’ll get in touch with you if we think you’ve got what it takes. Thanks.

With the Academy Awards just around the corner, it’s always fun to make predictions as to who the winners might be. To help you in this, and promote its Oscar-related content, Vanity Fair magazine is launching a free iPhone app that will allow you to make your picks for all the awards and receive realtime results on the night of the show.

Of course, you can also invite friends to vote for the people you think have the best chance of winning, compare your selections to friends and the Vanity Fair editors, and chat via the app the app in Facebook. On Oscar night, the app will show you who is winning from your picks.

The app also offers access to Vanity Fair‘s content including background information on nominees, stories, photos, profiles, trailers of nominated films, and slideshows. Hey, they gotta pay for the app somehow, right? With some much hype surrounding the Oscars, its nice to see an app that caters to the most important aspect of the night: who’s gonna take home the golden statue.

If you check out the app, tell us what you think in the comments. Also, after the break, we’ve included a little video that helps you understand Vanity Fair’s vision for this app and a little more on how to use it. So check that out too.

The Academy Awards take place on Sunday, March 7 at 8/5P on ABC.

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We’ve been fans of BioWare and EA’s Mass Effect game around here since its debut way back in 2008. Now, as things often do, the game has expanded into other areas like a comic book from Dark Horse Comics. Obviously, the game is pretty popular and has sold well and that success seems to have carried over into the comic world as well because according to Dark Horse’s official press release, the first issue of the comic has completely sold out.

The comic, called Mass Effect: Redemption, serves as a prequel for the new Mass Effect 2 game and tells the backstory for event that lead up to all the action in the game. Sound cool? It is. If you want to know more, check out all the following from the press release:

Just in time for the arrival of the hit series’ second issue, in stores today, Mass Effect: Redemption #1 will be reprinted to fill demand after selling out across the country.

Mass Effect: Redemption tells the exciting backstory that leads up to the events of Mass Effect 2, the recently released video game developed by the award-winning creative team at BioWare. The game’s lead writer, Mac Walters, takes up the pen to give fans exclusive insight into the events that unfolded between the conclusion of the original Mass Effect and the beginning of Mass Effect 2. Scripted by John Jackson Miller (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, The Invincible Iron Man) and drawn by Omar Francia (Star Wars: Legacy), this four-part series explores the exotic and dangerous future Milky Way of Mass Effect, revealing previously unseen locations, aliens, and enemies in this rich science-fiction landscape.

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The ’80′s were an interesting time for many reasons. One of the main ones was the burgeoning music video scene where any band that was trying to “make it” made a video. One such band was Martini Ranch, fronted by a young Bill Paxton. And yes, they made a video.

The difference here is that the video was directed by James Cameron and featured not only Paxton but Judge Reinhold, Paul Reiser, Adrian Pasdar and Cameron’s future wife, director Kathryn Bigelow. In the video you are treated to Paxton as he rides into a typically dusty western town where in typical fashion coffins are being assembled, a beefy lady blacksmith works and prostitutes assemble on the balcony of the local whore house. Paxton then pays a visit to the saloon and said house of ill repute.

But the fun doesn’t end there when Bigelow and her posse hit town and interrupt Paxton’s fun by slipping a CD of the song, entitled “Reach”, into a player. From that point forward, it’s on. In truth, words cannot adequately describe just how cheesy this video is. After all, it was the ’80′s.

Check out this masterpiece after the jump. Thanks goodness the ’80′s are over.

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If you happen to be one of the people still using your original XBox console to connect to XBox Live and play with your friends, your days of enjoying this kind of fun are numbered. Microsoft, in its quest to get people to upgrade to the XBox 360, has already discontinued the original XBox in late 2008 and stopped supporting it in March 2009.

Now, the Redmond Giant will be cutting off original XBox owners from XBox Live starting April 15. Yep, that’s it. So, if you’re one of the people playing Halo 2 online you will still have a couple months to keep the fun going. Then, it might be time to disconnect the old console, join the rest of us in the new century and upgrade to a shiny new XBox 360.

Or, you can just play your multi-player games on your own. Heck, you could even invite some of your friends over for a good, old fashioned, LAN party. That is, if they actually remember what a LAN party is. But really, with prices dropping all the time on new consoles, isn’t it time to make the jump? New toys are fun, I promise.