Even though this website could technically be called a “Blog” and those of us who contribute to it are known as “Bloggers,” we like to think of ourselves as writers. So, when other writers get recognized, as they have by the Writer’s Guild of America’s nominations for it’s awards today, we take notice.

We also take notice when movies that seem an odd choice for awards get nominated anyway. We will leave it to you, good readers, to decide which of the following nominees for Writers Guild awards seems a bit out of place.

Winners will be announced at the 2012 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 19, 2012, during simultaneous ceremonies in Hollywood and New York. Check out all the nominees (and more) from the official press release:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios

Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni; Fox Searchlight

Young Adult, Written by Diablo Cody; Paramount Pictures

Continue Reading →

With Juno, Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman solidified themselves in cinematic history with Cody even winning an Oscar for best screenplay. So it makes sense the duo would try to strike gold again with a whole new gang of wacky characters and off-beat tone in their latest collaboration Young Adult.

That seems to be the plan for the movie, or at least what we can gather from this new red-band trailer. For those who need a bit more other than seeing the amazing cast of Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, and Patton Oswalt, here’s the synopsis:

Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Wilson). When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Oswalt) who hasn’t quite gotten over high school, either.

Take a look at the new trailer after the jump in which Theron gets a bit nuts. Young Adult is set to hit theaters on December 9th.

Continue Reading →

Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.

• Want to geek up your next romantic evening? Make it so with the Lightsaber Candlesticks.

• It’s the 90s all over again as Beavis & Butthead make it back to the airwaves. here’s another trailer to get you ready.

• Speaking of retro, here are some of your favorite current games done like the were old NES games. A God of War side-scroller would actually be pretty awesome…

• Paying respects to the man himself, here’s a collection of Apple products depicting the late, great Steve Jobs.

• Love everything about the film Drive? Then you’re going to have to get one of the scorpion jackets from the film. Just drive safely.

• AMC’s Walking Dead makes its triumphant return to TV in just a few weeks, so why not check in with the world of zombies with their original webisodes.

Continue Reading →

Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.

Let’s get started!

• Just because they seem to be running out of ideas that aren’t hand-delivered to them by either Marvel or Pixar, Disney is now working on a feature length film based on their Matterhorn ride. Let’s hope this one doesn’t spawn as many sequels as Pirates.

• Both No Strings Attached starring Ashton Kutcher and Friends With Benefits starring Mila Kunis are eerily similar. How similar? Here’s a mashup trailer to prove it.

• Diablo Cody is stepping away from her hamburger-shaped typewriter and behind her hamburger-shaped camera as she takes on directing Lamb of God.

• In honor of his newest masterpiece hitting theaters, here is the premise to every Michael Bay film in under 60 seconds.

Continue Reading →

We’re back this month with Cortney’s TV Digest, everything you need to know about the latest and greatest shows on the tube. This month we’ve got some interesting new shows to tell you about from a bunch of your favorite networks, as well as the resurrection of one show we worried we’d never see again.

Parenthood – NBC

Based on the 1989 film of the same name, this new show is produced by movie and tv genius Ron Howard. The show follows the parenting experience of the Bravemen family: single mom Sarah (Lauren Graham), her brother Adam (Peter Krause) and wife Christina (Monica Potter) whose son is diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, and their headstrong father (Craig T. Nelson). Parenthood premiers March 2nd at 10 PM on NBC.

Southland – TNT

Back in 2009, NBC premiered their new, gritty cop drama, Southland. The show centered around Los Angeles and the members of the LAPD, including The OC’s Ben Mackenzie as rookie Officer Ben Sherman. Shortly before the beginning of its second season, NBC suddenly canceled Southland. It was doubtful whether we’d ever see the six episodes scheduled to air, but TNT swooped in and bought them, effectively saving the show from certain doom. The previous season began airing in January and season 2 starts on March 2nd.

Continue Reading →

I remember when the first Sweet Valley High book came out in 1993. Captivated by the blonde Wakefield twins on the cover, I eagerly snatched a copy up.  The aptly titled “Double Love”  laid the foundation for the series to come. Despite being outwardly identical, the Wakefield sisters  were polar opposites when it came to  temperament and personality.

Long suffering Elizabeth was kind and demure, while sister Jessica was haughty, bitchy , and manipulative. Their adventures with boys, friends and school were chronicled in the books. To date, the series boasts over 150 books (ghostwriters helped creator Francine Pascal),  and  was the basis of  a television series that began in 1994 and lasted 4 seasons.

Last week Variety reported that Diablo Cody had been tapped to adapt the beloved series for the big screen. Sweet Valley High fans the world over secretly smiled, because Cody might the be the ideal scribe for the job. After a stumble with Jennifer’s Body, this could be the perfect vehicle to put Cody back on the map. Cody has indicated that she has no intention of moving the series out of the 80′s, as  many fans feared. Ripe with opportunities for campy fun, Sweet Valley High is well suited for the writer’s quirky style.

Jennifer’s Body is the eagerly awaited follow up to 2007′s indie film juggernaut Juno.  Screenwriter Diablo Cody exploded onto the pop culture landscape, became an overnight sensation, and won an Academy Award for penning the story. Almost immediately after her catapult to fame,  a backlash began against the writer. The anti-establishment proclaimed her over-rated. So the question riding on this film is this:  Is she a one-hit-wonder or is she a legitimately talented screenwriter?

I don’t believe she ever had a chance of lightning striking twice and you can only star in a Cinderella story one time. However, Cody wisely chose to distance herself from her freshman debut and completely changed genres for her second movie. The result is this comedy/horror hybrid about a voracious vamp who develops an unhealthy appetite for the flesh of male classmates. Since the movie revolves around teenagers, Cody is able to drop plenty of her trademark dialogue, (or Cody-isms as we bloggers like to call them). Hot boys are “salty morsels” , boobs are “smart bombs” and Jennifer (Megan Fox) sneers “you’re so Jell-o” to someone she thinks is jealous. If you were annoyed by the snarky dialogue in Juno,  you won’t be doing yourself any favors by seeing this movie. However,  I  enjoyed the dialogue and found that it added a deliciously campy feel to the movie.

Continue Reading →

Break.com recently posted a heartfelt PSA from Megan Fox, who encouraged high school kids everywhere to stand up against peer pressure and not be afraid of being different. “What really matters,” Fox explains, “is being yourself, and if that includes slowly killing, then eating every boy in your school, then I say do it.”

Wait…what?

It turns out the PSA is actually promoting the black comedy/horror flick, Jennifer’s Body, Diablo Cody’s follow-up to Juno. Fox plays Jennifer Check, a sexy, popular cheerleader that every girl wants to befriend and every boy wants to date. Jennifer’s interest in boys changes significantly after a satanic ritual goes horribly wrong, leaving Jennifer possessed by a demon who feeds off the boys at her high school.

Jennifer’s Body also stars Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons and Adam Brody and will be devouring audiences on September 18.

Catch Fox’s special PSA after the jump. Strong language is used, so viewers beware.

Continue Reading →

Previously, we only had a bit of information and a few pictures from the upcoming film Jennifer’s Body to bring you. Granted, they were pictures of Megan Fox and co-star Amanda Zeyfried so it wasn’t such a letdown we hope. But now, thanks to the gang at Shock ‘Til You Drop, there’s a brand new trailer for the film that we can bring you as well.

In case you don’t happen to be familiar with Jennifer’s Body, the the film centers on a gorgeous cheerleader (Fox) who is possessed by a demon and starts killing and feeding off the boys in a small Minnesota farming town. Her less attractive best friend (Zeyfried) must kill her, then escape from a correctional facility to go after the Satan-worshipping rock band responsible for turning Fox’s character into a kill-crazy monster.

If the movie sounds pretty cool you can probably thank one person in particular for that. That person is, of course, screenwriter Diablo Cody who proved her ability to create quirky end endearing characters with her previous work on Juno. If this movie manages to live up to that script and also be a good horror film as well, we just might have something here.

Jennifer’s Body, which features Megan Fox, Amanda Zeyfried, Adam Brody, J.K. Simmons and Amy Sedaris, hits theaters on September 18. Check out the full “red band” trailer after the jump.

Continue Reading →

Empire Magazine has devoted a few pages of its current print issue to the Diablo Cody scripted, Megan Fox starring horror/comedy Jennifer’s Body. You may ask yourself right about now why we (or you for that matter) should care about this particular film. Fair question. Let’s talk a bit more about the film and perhaps you’ll get a better idea of why.

First off, the film is written by the very talented Diablo Cody, who’s previous writing effort was the terrific Juno. Second, the film stars Megan Fox as a demonically possessed cheerleader who proceeds to kill her classmates in new and fun kinds of ways. Third, during some of these killings, Fox manages to be in various stages of undress. Finally, the film is directed by Karyn Kusama, who so far has made a very good film in Girlfight and a decent one in Aeon Flux.

And did I mention that Megan Fox plays a cheerleader who kills people and tends to take her clothes off? Just wanted to make sure you were paying attention. Let’s be honest, having Megan Fox in a movie, especially right now with the mega success of Transformers 2, can’t hurt. Plus, you have to add in the Diablo Cody factor and more than likely a decent directing job. Put all that together and I don’t know exactly what it makes but did I happen to mention Megan Fox takes her clothes off quite a bit in the film?

Check out a few of the Jennifer’s Body pics after the break. For the rest of them, head over to Film School Rejects where they apparently have so much time on their hands they scan in photos of Megan Fox from magazines. But hey, we’re glad they do. Jennifer’s Body, which features Megan Fox, Amanda Zeyfried, Adam Brody, J.K. Simmons and Amy Sedaris, hits theaters on September 18.

Continue Reading →