This was a big week for news, especially of the comic book movie variety. Surprisingly, even with all that coming out we still have even more items worth talking about on the radar. Batman beats Superman…again, a Star Wars character makes a bid for a mascot job, MGM is still looking for money, Brian De Palma may get paranormal and what cities will Michael Bay reign destruction upon next?

Batman trumps Superman on the auction block

Looks like Batman wasn’t content with beating Superman at the box office, he had to do it at an auction as well. The 1939 first appearance of The Dark Knight sold for a whopping $1,075,500. This beats Superman’s first appearance in comics which sold for 1 million. Sorry, Supes…but, hey, you did land an awesome writer for your upcoming reboot.

Blockbuster struggles to remain relevant in the digital age

Video rental store Blockbuster continues an uphill battle to compete against digital alternatives.  The brick-and-mortar business reported a “$435 million in the fourth quarter, compared with $360 million in red ink in the year-ago frame. Revenue dropped 18% to $1.1 billion.” As companies like Netflix and Redbox continue to steal market share some believe Blockbuster has some merit left:

“The drying up of retail competition from the ongoing closures of most Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores; major studios aren’t making their new releases immediately available to Redbox; and Warner Bros. will begin a 28-delay before giving Netflix access to new-release DVDs.”

Personally, I don’t see a rebound at this point and beyond the legit competition Blockbuster still has piracy to content with. Is this the end? We’ll see.

Continue Reading →

This week on The Flickcast, Matt and Chris fly solo again as they take on Conan’s last episode and the classy way he handles it as well as the casting of a different Conan in a reboot of Conan the Barbarian. In addition they also talk about the upcoming Powers TV series, The Goon going digital and the amazing success of Avatar. They also discuss some other topics including the new Fox show Human Target, Jackie Earle Haley’s career, Spactacus: Blood and Sand, the nature of modern movies and the greatness of Die Hard.

Chris and Matt also made more picks this week. Matt went with Swimming with Sharks, and Chris picked the cult classic Coogan’s Bluff starring Clint Easwood as a cowboy in the big city who teaches those city slickers a thing or two about justice.

As usual, if you have any comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitterand at Facebook, MySpace or via email.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:00:54 — 83.7MB)

We all know that this NBC Late Night war is getting out of hand. It’s good to see some are taking it seriously, while still adding a comedic twist to it, though. SNL’s Seth Meyers broke down the fiasco into marital terms that we could all understand, and now it’s time for Taiwan to take a crack at it, using the skills they’re best at: state-of-the-art computer animation.

Finally, the whole war has now been put into terms that us geeks can understand. Of course, we have no idea what’s actually being said in the video, but what we do know is that Jeff Zucker, Jay Leno, and Conan O’Brien turn into Captain America, Superman, and the Hulk about halfway through…and battle. What else could you ask for?

Is this just the Taiwanese News mocking our coverage of the Late Night War, or do they really think that the only way we solve our problems is by putting on superhero costumes and fighting? Check out the insane news report after the jump, and if anybody knows what is being said, please fill us in.

Continue Reading →

Once again, the country has been split. This time, it’s not for for land, democracy, money, or rap music, but the coveted prize of NBC’s The Tonight Show. The country’s sides are broken down to “Team Conan” and “Team Leno.” Though the latter should be “Team NBC”, nobody wants to take sides with the network after the decisions they’ve made.

Of course there are people who remain independent, or on “Team Dave”, but they don’t really matter here. With NBC announcing that their letting Conan go, fellow celebrity supporters of O’Brien are standing up and taking as many potshots at the network as they can on national TV. One of those supporters is Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers.

Meyers is not only the first solo host of Weekend Update since Colin Quinn back in 2000, but he’s also the show’s current head writer. Meyers took a moment to explain the “Late Night War” in a pretty marital analogy for everyone to understand, which both enlightened us, and stuck it to NBC CEO Jeff Zucker at the same time. Take a look at the clip after the jump.

Continue Reading →

With the newest Late Night War firing up between NBC’s own Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien, it seems that the feud has shifted focus to Conan vs. NBC. Earlier this week, Conan put out a statement directed at the network saying that he will no longer be a part of The Tonight Show if it’s moved from 11:30pm to 12:05am. From there, Conan has made his opening monologues over the past few nights directed towards NBC and their actions.

Yesterday, NBC made it official that Leno’s show will be moving to 11:30 after the Winter Olympics come to an end. They haven’t made it clear what the plans for Conan and his team will be, but some rumors have Conan being benched until his contract is up in three years.

Continue Reading →

For those unaware, one of the best and most poignant talk shows isn’t on network or cable television — it’s actually only on Funny Or Die. The show? Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifiniakis. The comedic relief from such films and TV shows as The Hangover and Bored To Death hosts a satire of bad local interview shows with some of his Hollywood friends, and each are funnier than the last.

Lately, he has had such guests as Mad Men’s Jon Hamm, Charlize Theron, and even fellow Hangover star Bradley Cooper. His most recent episode had the dynamic duo of late night TV, Conan O’Brien and Andy Richter. Zach has a bit of a problem with Conan, and he doesn’t hide it very well.

Check out the video behind the jump, courtesy of FunnyOrDie.com, and be sure to keep your eye on Zach G and his upcoming endeavors, as he’s on the way to toppling Will Ferrel for Hollywood’s King of Comedy.

Continue Reading →

A few months ago, legendary actor known for playing himself (and a certain starship Captain), William Shatner, made a special appearance on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien to read Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin’s resignation speech. It was pretty epic, and you can relive it over here.

Last night, Shatner returned to the show, this time to read the impossibly intelligent tweets of Levi Johnston, the 19 year old baby daddy to Palin’s granddaughter — a development that may have been one of the reasons why she and McCain lost the Presidential election. His tweets are pretty painful, but given his accidental celebrity status, that makes them all the more funny.

Shatner made sure that everybody knew just how poetic Johnston could be, in a tribute poem. Check out the video after the jump, and long live Shatner!

Continue Reading →

Granted, most of us here at The Flickcast probably don’t watch Conan O’ Brien and The Tonight Show as often as we should. He’s a funny, talented guy that deserves all the success he has. Unfortunately, time is a precious commodity these days so when I, for example, have time to watch something, its usually more along the lines of a show like Fringe, Dollhouse, Mad Men or Sons of Anarchy. Still, that doesn’t mean we aren’t fans of Conan or his show, especially when he has great guests like the super talented and funny Seth MacFarlane and the politically irreverent Michael Moore .

Recently, Conan had both of these guys on his show and both of them proved to be quite entertaining. As usual, Michael Moore provided several interesting points and managed to crack up the audience a bit with his take on life in post-Bush America. Plus, if his latest film, Capitalism: A Love Story, is any indication of how things are, we really need to rethink some things around here.

Next, Conan had on a guest who many, including myself, consider to be one of the true geniuses working in show business today. I’m talking, of course, about Seth MacFarlane. His shows, especially the terrific Family Guy, prove his humor and talent week in and week out. He’s a truly gifted performer. Plus, he’s just so damn funny in person as well.

Check out video clips of both of these guys after the jump. The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brian airs weekdays at 11:30P/12:30C on NBC.

Continue Reading →

Louis C.K. might not be a name that many people know, but he may just be one of the more innovative, and possibly best comedians of our time. You might know his face from several small roles in films like Role Models and TV shows like Home Movies, or his writing on such shows as Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. You may soon know both his name and face more as the FX network has picked up a show based on him simply titled Louie as well as a second series titled The League.

Some may remember the brief 13-episode run of Lucky Louie on HBO, but the new Louie is said to be done in a different vain. According to Variety:

“Louie” is based on the star’s life and will blend standup material with what Landgraf described as “extended vignettes” depicting moments from his offstage experiences. Louis CK is exec producer, writer and helmer of the series.

Meanwhile, The League seems to still be on the comedic side, but won’t be as much about the comedian:

FX Networks president John Landgraf described “League” as a kind of suburban-set “Sex and the City” for men. The semi-improv show revolves around the lives of a group of college friends as they’re forced to take on more responsibilities as husbands and fathers.

These two half-hour comedies will be added to FX’s growing comedy line up along with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which has already become a big hit both on the air, and on DVD. To get a hint at what the new series will be showcasing, check out a famous rant Louis C.K. had on Conan O’Brien a few years back after the jump. Both shows are expected to start next year.

Continue Reading →

Since last years The Dark Knight grossed over $1 Billion worldwide, there has been plenty of speculation lately on another sequel to Christopher Nolan’s highly successful Batman film franchise. Many of the questions revolved around who the next villain will be playing opposite Christian Bale, and one rumor kept popping up that Eddie Murphy will be donning the green trunks as The Riddler. Murphy never took the time to comment on the subject, and our questions went unanswered.

That all changed on late night television, of all things. Thankfully, legendary comic Eddie Murphy made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien last night to promote his new film Imagine That and was able to put some of our minds to rest.

Check out the clip after the jump.

Continue Reading →