Somehow with all the news that comes out every day we missed this interesting bit of casting. Okay, the truth is we were a bit hungover after one of Managing Editor Matt Raub’s trivia parties last night and we just forgot to put this up. Sorry folks, you deserve better.

Anyway, what news am I talking about? Why it’s the news that Anne Hathaway has been confirmed as Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman) in the upcoming Batman Threequel The Dark Knight Rises. Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. have announced that the Oscar-nominated actress is joining the film and according to the report they could not be happier about it.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story,” Nolan said in an official statement.

But wait, there’s more. Nolan also revealed that longtime cast member Tom Hardy will be playing the role of Bane: “I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies.”

So basically Nolan is both thrilled and delighted. That’s a good way to start a project as massive as this one undoubtedly is. I think I’m thrilled and delighted as well. Hardy is awesome and will make a great Bane. Anne Hathaway should do well as Catwoman too and should have no trouble sexing things up for the Caped Crusader.

What about you guys? Do you like these casting choices or who would you have preferred to see as Catwoman and Bane?

In The Pardoner’s Tale, three drunk scallywags stumble out of a pub in the middle of the Black Death.  In their alcohol inspired brilliance, they decide to go looking for Death so they can kill him in retaliation.  A strange old man hears their request, and informs them they can find Death beneath a particular tree.

When they arrive, they find not the Grim Reaper figure they (and readers) were expecting, but a bag of gold.   Greed overtakes them, and they wind up killing each other.

MacKenna’s Gold is that story. It’s also a remake of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. I would argue that Geoffrey Chaucer was able to get “Gold is death, greed is bad” a lot more effectively and simply than either film, but that’s just me. Besides, if MacKenna’s Gold stripped the movie down to its essentials, you wouldn’t have a corny theme song (which was at the heart of long running David Letterman gag), ponderous narration, psychedelic effects, and terrible miniature work.

You also wouldn’t have gotten to see Omar Sharif or Julie Newmar naked. What? Yes. And you thought gratuitous nudity didn’t exist before the 1970s.