The 2011 Golden Globe Awards started off with a bang thanks to host Ricky Gervais, who wasted no time throwing some well deserved punches at some Hollywood bigwigs. Gervais poked some fun at Charlie Sheen, The Tourist’s inexplicable nominations, the allegations of bribery regarding The Hollywood Foreign Press, and closeted Scientology homosexuals.

Yowza, he’s got some balls. Was it sheer coincidence he disappeared for much of the show’s duration?

This show was noticeably tame for a Golden Globe telecast.  In fact, nothing really wacky or notable happened.  Here are a few observations:

• Worst dressed Tilda Swinton, wearing a potato sack.
• Best dressed January Jones in that red dress?  Hubba hubba.
• People who refuse to age Michelle Pfieffer (she’s 53!?) and Jane Fonda (74).
• Best presenter Robert Downey Junior
• Most charming flub Andrew Garfield
• Most shocking transformation Trent Reznor (who was a fresh scrubbed yuppie) and Melissa Leo, who is not really a bleached and teased hag. In fact, she’s quite fetching in real life.

Here are the awards, listed in the order they were presented. Glee came away a big winner with 3 awards.  The Social Network continuing to steam roll through the award season with a win for best director, best picture, and best screenplay. Lovable losers Paul Giamatti and Steve Buscemi both took home awards, and Natalie Portman is one step closer to an Oscar for her role in Black Swan. 

Boardwalk Empire beat out some stiff competition for best television drama. Here’s the rest of the night’s winners:

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According to Apple PR, Steve Jobs sent out an email to Apple staff this morning stating that he is taking a medical leave of absence. In the email he says Tim Cook is in charge of Apple’s day to day operations. Jobs will remain CEO and weigh in on strategic decisions. The text of the email is below:

Team,

At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.
I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple’s day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011.

I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.

Steve

As you probably know, Jobs had a liver transplant in 2009 to treat complications from pancreatic cancer. What does this announcement mean for Apple? At least Jobs waited until after the Verizon announcement, which is smart. Plus, the company seems to have a definite roadmap for the next year at least, so it will probably take a stock price hit but keep on going strong.

But whatever happens with Apple, we wish Mr. Jobs all the best and we hope he makes a speedy and complete recovery.

We live in a fast-paced world where nobody has any time for anything anymore. Even a 30-minute comedy takes up too much time and DVR’s are blowing through most of them. With that in mind, Syfy has broken down the crux of Being Human season one into two solid minutes.

Much like the network has done in the past for such shows as Battlestar Galactica or even sister shows like V or Lost, this is a race through everything you need to know about the upcoming series, breaking it down to literally the lowest common denominator.

Based on the BBC series of the same name, Being Human follows three friends that live together. The only difference here is that one is a vampire, one’s a werewolf, and one is the spirit of the girl who was killed in the apartment.

A little bit Twilight. a little bit Friends. Just the right combination to pull in a crowd from every demographic. Check out the two minute summary after the jump, and catch the premiere on Monday, January 17th at 9/8 central only on Syfy.

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Feel like Hollywood has run out of ideas after hearing news about things like Missile Command and Battleship, another story that will blow your mind comes to pass. Bandai is currently working with Merv Griffin Entertainment, the production company behind Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy to bring a reality gameshow based on Pac-Man to TV.

From Deadline.

The Pac-Man reality series is envisioned as a “big, crazy Wipeout-type event with a lot of energy,” said Merv Griffin’s president of TV Roy Bank. “The idea we have is to take what Pac-Man is and bring it to life, to bring what is essentially the world’s biggest game of tag to television.” Bank is executive producing the project, which is now being taken out to the broadcast networks, with David Russo, who brought the idea to him.

While this idea is pretty mind-blowing, it’s not the only Pac-Man idea in the works. Marvel super producer Avi Arad has been working on a computer animated Pac-Man series for years now, that keeps going through the woes of budgeting and distribution.

At this rate, if all goes well, you could very well be seeing two separate series based on the 1980′s video game where a yellow circle eats a bunch of ghosts. Which is surprisingly a better idea than NBC’s Kath & Kim.

Normally, it’s pretty hard to swallow a film based on a video game. The only time that rule is voided is when the film is a direct-to-dvd passion project. Look at Halo: Legends. Now, from the fine folks at Anchor Bay films comes a new adaptation in Dead Space: Aftermath.

Based on the 2008 third-person shooter that combined elements of horror and sci-fi, this film picks up where the game left off, and leads us into the sequel, Dead Space 2. Here’s the synopsis.

The year is 2509. The first-responder ship USG O’Bannon has arrived at Aegis VII, attempting to hold the planet together in the wake of the catastrophe that destroyed the Ishimura. But only four members of the O’Bannon crew have survived, and the catastrophe remains unchecked. What went wrong? What secrets do they hide? And what new threats have been revealed…in the Aftermath!

Starring enough sci-fi regulars to make your head spin, this flick is available on Blu-Ray and DVD January 25th to coincide with the release of the new game. Check out a brand new clip from the film after the jump.

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There have been rumors swirling for a long time that The Green Hornet was a troubled production.  Original director Stephen Chow bailed on the movie; George Clooney was once attached, as was Kevin Smith.

Eventually Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) took over the directing duties.  Seth Rogan co-wrote the movie, and stars as the title character. Many felt that he was all wrong for the role of the beloved superhero, but he did end up losing about 30 pounds to slim down for the role.

After all is said and done, The Green Hornet is a mixed bag.  I liked certain parts, but more often than not I had to keep myself from mentally checking out to go over my grocery list. I had to concentrate on watching the movie, and that is never a good sign.

Seth Rogan plays Britt Reid, the Paris Hilton of the publishing world. The sole heir of a publishing empire, Britt spends his life partying and behaving like an all around jackass.  He has a bad relationship with his no nonsense father (Tom Wilkinson) who has no time or patience for his son’s antics. We are shown in flashbacks that the two never had a warm relationship.

When Britt’s father abruptly dies (from a bee sting), Britt must finally step up and take some responsibility. He makes fast friends with his father’s auto mechanic Kato (who is later revealed to be master gadget maker) and with the support of his new friend, he decides to run The Daily Sentinel, his father’s legacy building publication.

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When people think of Disney, 999 times out of a 1000, Mickey Mouse is the first thing to come to mind. While some people may be the oddball who thinks of Goofy, Donald or even the lovable Stitch, Mickey is the icon of the company.

And even though he is Walt Disney’s most famous creation dating back to 1928, he is not the first. One of Walt’s earlier creations, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, is brought back to center stage alongside Mickey Mouse in Mickey’s first true solo adventure in years on any platform, and his first on the Wii.

Disney Epic Mickey was created by industry legend, Warren Spector. Also the general manager and creative director at Junction Point Studios, Warren is best known for being the director of the 1997 hit Deus Ex. Focusing on a game where “playstyle matters”, Spector spoke about a game that would change the way people feel about Mickey and the way they interacted with him in this world.

Gameplay:

Choice is a big factor in the world of Disney Epic Mickey. First and foremost, people get to choose if they want to play as Mickey “the creator” or Mickey “the destroyer”. Those these aren’t official names for the lovable mouse, that’s how the game’s basic mechanics break down. During gameplay, players are equipped with a magical brush that either shoots out paint or paint thinner. As you’d expect, paint allows Mickey to create objects while thinner destroys them. The paint can also be used in combat to coat enemies until they decide to befriend Mickey while thinner sticks to destroying the pesky ink blot foes.

Mickey will also be able to use these actions to decide how to deal with some of the quests presented to him through the course of the game. Do you help paint someone’s house or just erase them from existence? Ultimately, these choices will determine rewards for completing quests, depending on the method taken, as well as interactions with characters later in the game. The Pete’s aren’t going to be too fond of Mickey if he has thinned their brothers off of Wasteland.

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It’s the cycle of nature. Every year, the studios serve their finest for the holidays, projects chock full of high tone and blue chip casts. This year there was the usual deluxe assortment: literary adaptation (True Grit), drug addiction (The Fighter), madness and artistry (Black Swan), and physical disability, historical drama and royalty (The King’s Speech).

Then comes January. The good stuff runs out and they bring out the cheap wine, hoping we’re too drunk to notice. So we get the likes of Country Strong, Season of the Witch, The Green Hornet and The Dilemma.

Starring the peculiarly charmless Vince Vaughn as Ronny and Kevin James (The King of Queens) as Nick, his purported bosom buddy/business partner/mechanical genius (more on that later), The Dilemma also features as Jennifer Connelly (Beth) and Winona Ryder (Geneva) as their respective love interests, both actresses dark-haired, kohl-rimmed, wraith-thin and hard-faced.

Of course it’s totally preposterous that either woman would ever go out with the likes of Vaughn or James, and pigs will scrapbook before we see the likes of Jude Law movie-dating the likes of America Ferrara (the only female star under 50 who comes to mind who’s remotely overweight). But hey, that’s the glorious misogynistic magic of Hollywood.

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Whenever a new high-profile project gets going rumors pretty much instantly start to circulate concerning who is writing, directing or acting in a particular film or TV show. In the case of the upcoming Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, we already know some pieces of the puzzle.

For example, we already know Timor Bekmambetov is the director, Seth Grahame-Smith is the writer (based on his own novel) and that Bekmambetov, Jim Lemley and Tim Burton are producig. What we don’t know is who will be taking on the titular role of Abe — although we now have a few clues who it might be.

Over at Deadline (yes, again) they’ve got some exclusive scoop on who some of the actors, both known and unknown, who are in contention for the role. Some of the names being mentioned include Benjamin Walker, James D’Arcy, Adrien Brody, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Josh Lucas, and Timothy Olyphant.

You probably recognize some of those names and some you probably don’t. It’s an interesting mix of actors and from what we’ve seen pretty much any of them would probably make a fine Abe Lincoln.

However, if we had to pick, one our choice would be Timothy Olyphant. Even though one or two of us here at The Flickcast don’t understand or respect his talent, the rest of us do and think he would do a great job.

What do you think? Is Olyphant the right man for the gig? Well, whatever happens, we will know soon enough.

Look for the film to hit theaters on June 22, 2012.

Over at Deadline they’ve got the first pic of Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man in director Marc Webb’s reboot of the franchise. In the pic we get the first real look at Garfield as Spider-Man as well as a good idea of how the new costume is shaping up.

Although, from what you can see in this pic it looks like the costume, and Spider-Man, are a little worse for wear. It could be that he’s just been in a big battle and is making his way home.

Or, from the backpack on his shoulder, maybe he’s just hard a hard day in High School and needs to relax for a bit? Whatever the setup for this pic, it’s always fun to speculate as to what’s going on and to, of course, finally get a glimpse of what your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is going to look like this time around.

So, what do we think of this? Thumbs up or down? Sound off in the comments.

Click through for a bigger version of the pic. The new Spider-Man is set to hit theaters on July 3, 2012.

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Now that the iPhone on Verizon cat is out of the proverbial bag we can turn our attention to other important matters like what the next generation of i-devices from Apple might look like. Speaking to that is information published over at BGR wherein they cite rumors and reports that the next gen iPhone and iPad will be minus one major feature: the home button.

According to the report, the reason Apple added multitouch gestures for the iPad in the latest iOS 4.3 beta is because the iPad will be losing the home button. In addition, the big change in design will also make its way to the iPhone as well. These make sense considering the legend of Steve Jobs and that he never really wanted any buttons on the iPhone or iPad in the first place.

The source giving BGR this info also said that Apple employees are already testing iPads and iPhones with no home buttons on the Apple campus. So it is entirely possible we will see this change come with the next-generation iPad and iPhone launching later this year.

As if that wasn’t news enough, the report also goes on to say that Apple’s photo-taking application, Photo Booth, will be appearing on the next iPad. It’s also possible that new iLife apps for iOS will drop round the iPad 2 release as well. Lots of exciting stuff to be sure.

What do you think? Will you miss the home button on your iPhone or iPad? Sound off in the comments.

We love Chuck, you love Chuck so let’s just say we all love it and hope it runs for a long time. That said, like many shows Chuck has been off the air for the holidays. Fortunately, it returns next Monday with an all new episode.

To get you ready for the return, we’ve got a brand new preview for the episode to kick things off right. In it, we see everyone is back and things start where we left off last year. Hijinks, danger and a little sex ensue as Chuck and the gang get back to the spy business. Good fun and that Yvonne Strahovski isn’t so bad to look at either.

Click through to check out the promo. Chuck returns on Monday at 8/7C on NBC.

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