The Flickcast’s ‘On The Radar’

This week On the Radar George Lucas seeks to capture the minds of even younger viewers, Image Comics takes a shot at Marvel, and one of the most famous music videos of all time may go 3D.  All that and whole bunch of other fun stuff!

Crispin Glover talks Back to the Future controversy

Personally, I didn’t realize Back to the Future was mired in any kind of controversy, but it is.  Speaking at a promotion for Hot Tub Time Machine, Crispin Glover, who played Marty McFly’s (Michael J. Fox) Dad spoke about the raw deal he was dealt after the first film came out:

“On the DVD to the Back to the Future trilogy, Bob Gale has said something that’s totally fabricated,” Glover told a group of reporters at this weekend’s press junket forHot Tub Time Machine. “He said I asked for twice the amount of money that Michael J. Fox asked for in the first film. In the negotiation for the second film, they offered me less than half of what any of the actors that were being asked to come back in the film—Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Tom Wilson. They had all done studio films, and they’d made a lot more money. I was being penalized.”

Interesting stuff.  Mind you, considering the somewhat lackluster opinions of the second and third film maybe Glover got off easy by not being in them.

Jamie Foxx to star in Kane & Lynch video game adaption?

There hasn’t been a lot of talk about the film adaption of video game Kane & Lynch other than it could star Bruce Willis as Kane.  Now, another big name is being tossed around to play opposite Willis, Jamie Foxx.  Developed by IO Interactive Nu Image/Millennium is set to finance with Lionsgate distributing.  While I’m confident in the actors involved, video games are not well known for the best of translations to the big screen.

George Lucas bringing Galactic Heroes to TV

Ask any “real” Star Wars fan and they will probably tell you that The Clone Wars cartoon is pretty childish.  Well, prepared to consider that more mature entertainment.  Looking to draw in even younger viewers to the Star Wars universe, George Lucas is working on a cartoon adaption of the Star Wars: Galactic Heroes toy line.  You know, those chunky figures with a whopping two points of articulation (usually the arms).  Worse yet, this problem means more screen time with the one Star Wars character that can relate best to 3 year olds-Jar Jar Binks.

Canadians love their American TV shows

While Canada and the United States have had some trade issues in the past there’s one import we Canadians love-American TV shows.  No surprise really given the sheer awesomeness of them and we can’t get enough:

“Saddled with multiyear output deals with Hollywood studio suppliers, Canadian broadcasters spent a record $846.3 million, or 59% of their programming expenditures, on foreign, mostly American shows, in the year to Aug. 31, 2009, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission reported Thursday.”

As an avid television viewer all I can say is thanks, and keep exporting those shows USA.  The last thing I want to do is be forced to watch Canadian fair. Yes, that’s horribly unpatriotic, but more horrible is the majority of our homegrown TV shows.

Glee cast heading to Oprah

I’ve tried to embargo myself when it comes to talking about Oprah.  However, I know we have a lot of Glee fans that visit The Flickcast so this one’s for you:

“According to an Oprah insider, the talk show titan’s April 7 show will be devoted to all things Glee. Highlights will include interviews with the entire cast and series creator Ryan Murphy, never-before-seen backstage video, and, natch, a show-stopping performance.”

Set your PVRs now Gleeks!

Image Comics spoofs Marvel’s Avengers ads

We’re use to movies and TV shows spoofing one another but you don’t get a lot of that in the comic industry.  Well, Image Comics may have set a hilarious president by taking a shot a Marvel’s current Avengers promo ads. Each ad for the Guardians of the Globe team features a character with notable quote.  I don’t want to ruin it here but hands down the best one so far is the one featuring Todd McFarlane’s, Spawn.  Way to go, Image!

More Glee-ful Smurfs casting news

For fans of blue creatures three apples tall, some casting news.  The upcoming Smurfs movie has two more names alongside the already announced Neil Patrick Harris.  The Simpson‘s own Hank Azaria will be providing voice talent for the Smurf’s nemesis, Gargamel while Glee‘s Jayme Mays will play wife to Harris.  The film will be a mix of live-action and animation and with names like these attached even I may check it out.

Michael Jackson’s Thriller getting the 3D treatment?

Another day, another 3D “reboot” of sorts.  This time around it’s one of the most famous music videos ever made, Thriller. Director John Landis recently said:

“…Jackson’s estate want to turn the video into 3D. The director is fine with the idea, even if he doesn’t seem to be the biggest fan of the tech, but it wasn’t clear if the 3D version of Thriller was intended for theatrical distribution.”

While the extended version of the video is quite long, it’s still not enough to warrant its one theatrical release.  However, if you were to attach this to a movie perhaps, maybe around Halloween, I could see where there is some serious money to be made here.

Is SXSW getting too successful?

Another SXSW festival is behind us and now it’s time for the event’s coordinators to reflect on lessons learned.  In this case, the festival’s increasing popularity.  While considered a very successful event, SXSW appears to be experiencing growing pains:

“With higher-profile projects invited to launch at SXSW during the past few years (‘Kick-Ass,’ ‘Drag Me to Hell,’ ‘Predators‘), the presence of industry people, media and other special guests has increased to the point that they crowd venues to the exclusion of many badge holders, let alone locals who are sold standby tickets only to be shut out of everything big, like ‘MacGruber.’”

It probably sounds worse than it really is. While the crowd issues are bad, it clearly indicates the popularity of SXSW. As such, I have no doubt that future festivals will  be able to manage the capacity.  Film fans and media love SXSW, rest assured things will only get better.

Could Conan O’Brien end up at Fox?

CoCo may be taking his show on the road but that doesn’t mean some networks aren’t trying to get him back on the tube.  In this case, Fox is hoping to bring the late night host to its air waves.  Aside from O’Brien’s commitment the only other thing in question is money:

“NBC spent close to $90 million a year to produce the show, which included O’Brien’s salary of more than $12 million a year. Fox wants to spend less than $60 million a year for the show, said people close to the discussions.”

I think O’Brien and Fox would be a good fit.  Further, with CoCo’s recent upswing in popularity after the NBC/Leno debacle I’m a little taken back that Fox would try and low ball this kind of deal.

While O’Brien didn’t perform as well as expected on NBC, he’s sure to find even greater success on his upcoming live show tour and even more so should he eventually return to television. Come on, Fox, dump some of your less endearing programming *cough*Human Target*cough* and pump some money into Conan!