New Best TV Makeout Scene [Squee!]

Maybe it's because I'm a lady and this is how ladies work, but I love it when my favorite tv couples get together. I used to write shipper fanfic as a middle schooler, let's not forget. If you type in "Best TV Kisses" on youtube, you will find video after video of top ten lists made by people just like me, but with slightly more drive when it comes to things like...making useless youtube videos. But the point is, number one on these lists often belongs to Veronica/Logan (squee!) Luke/Lorelei (squee!) Rory/Jess (squee!) Chuck/Blair (squee!) Buffy/Angel (meh) Buffy/Spike (squee!) or some nonsense from the nonsense that is One Tree Hill (okay seriously, what IS one tree hill and why do the tv spots for it never make any sense and always seem farcical?). I have a feeling though that there might be a new champion, or at least a scene that will knock number 10 off of a lot of lists. And yes, I'm talking about Chuck & Sarah's makeout session from Monday's episode of Chuck.

Here it is for you to enjoy!



Plus this



Reasons why this scene is so awesome:

- The build up. Not only the 2 seasons of build up, but the time they take in this scene to really build up the tension between them.

- It's organic. There's nothing forced about this, it's very organic, natural and awesome.

- It's realistic. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has been in that kind of sleeping-in-bed-together-makes-feelings-come-out kind of situation before. That kind of makes me sound like a ho. Promise I'm not.

- Chuck is still Chuck. Part of what makes this scene so great is how a. Chuck is thrilled that it's happening and can hardly believe it and b. Chuck is still the nice, great guy we know him to be and stops in the middle of what he's always wanted TO GO GET A CONDOM. I recently read something wondering how often in film and tv we see the characters act responsibly and use a condom, and I appreciate that Chuck went there.

Okay enough out of me and my acting like a 12 year old-ness. But. Chuck is awesome. Please be renewed for a third season! See full post

To Make You Smile [Video of the Moment]

I'm posting this clip that originally aired a month ago because

a. I listened to this song every time I got into the car in Vegas
b. I love Chuck
c. This scene revived my love for this song
d. For some reason, this clip makes me really happy and full of emotion. Possibly because I'm weird, possibly because it's just that good.

Enjoy.

Oh, P.S. this is from the middle of season two and while nothing too important is given away or anything, I should say - mild spoiler alert



Update: HAD TO ADD THIS. Thanks to @genjadeshade and @melloniel for bringing it to my attention!

See full post

Geekery and Tomfoolery: COD4, Celebrity Guest Stars, and Nerding Out with Zach, Josh, and Chris.

If you want to read about the upcoming season of Chuck, you can do so in the comprehensive and awesome post Ms. Muse will be writing, I’m sure. This is not that post. This post is about geek shit, because that’s how we roll. What’s great is, apparently, that’s also how the cast of Chuck rolls. We’ll start with Zach, Josh, And Chris. I was fortunate enough to get to roundtable with Zach, Josh, Chris, Josh, Yvonne and Adam and ask them truly banal questions ranging the gamut from actor-geekery such as ‘do you audition with an accent?’ to the more important things like “COD4 or COD:WaW?”. I also brought up, apparently for the first time in an official setting, the question that certainly burns in our little fan girl minds: What about Y?



EC: So, in Chuck’s room, there’s a massive amount of geekery on display. The Y: The Last Man poster, did you have anything to do [with that]?

Zach: It’s so weird. I had done a film that I had gone to do a signing for at… [House of Secrets] in Burbank and while I was there doing this signing this girl came through and she handed me… Volume 1 of like the compiled- so it was like the first three issues of Y: The Last Man. And she said… ‘I’ve been following this graphic novel since it came out... If they ever made a movie of it I didn’t think anyone would beright for it until I started watching Chuck and I was like, I think this would be you and here it is’ and she just gave it to me and said ‘I hope you like it,’ and so I read it ALL that first night, I was like ‘oh my gosh, this is such an incredible graphic novel and couldn’t wait to get the rest of them. Fortunately on of the guys- one of our grips…had the entire collection so he was like, ‘here you go!” And it just so happens the second season, I go back to work, and there’s Y The Last Man stuff in there and it was so, like, kismet, I couldn’t believe it.

EC: So are you aware of the following online? Where there’s like a big movement where ‘We need to get DJ Caruso to cast Zach Levi in this role‘? It’s like a thing, it’s like an issue.

Chris: I think that’s a great idea.

Zach: I- Thank you.

Fedak then volunteered more Y info. Because we’re not obsessed or anything, it’s cool. Also, the entire time Josh sat there looking generally enthusiastic and adorable. For those who were wondering.

Chris: It’s a great idea. We tried to clear that poster for the first season, but it was only when we were coming back for a second season that we were able to get it up on the wall… Chuck’s bedroom is actually like a clearance nightmare…there’s a number of things, there’s a poster up there called Yakuza Prep, which unfortunately we had to make up…it’s a fusion of a couple things, [mostly] Battle Royale. So we thought, Josh is really obsessed with Y: The Last Man, and there was also that notion of these are all movies in some ways we kind of imagined seeing Chuck in, from Dune to Tron…which is really my obsession with the 80s, and then Y: The Last Man to bring it back [to the present].

NEAT. The boys also talked a bit about travel!

EC: Josh, Zach, you’re both excellent actors. How big of geeks are you in real life, because we can’t tell?

Josh: Gosh.

Zach: Well. We haven’t gotten a compliment like that… ever! We’re pretty big geeks. I’ll just give you a snapshot. The entire flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco consisted nearly entirely of us going through the latest issue of Xbox magazine, discussing the pros and cons of all of the top gamesof last year, this year and coming up, discussing what we liked personally about the two games we are playing currently, Killzone 2 & Halo Wars… and even sitting there last night with Adam and his daughter and Adam’s like, ‘what is a good shooter game? and we’re literally like-

[Zach and Josh together in a chorus of nerdom] “Well, you know, personally, mmmmmnif I had to talk about my top five” –

Zach: This is what we think about – we have answers because we think about what IS the best first person shooter.

Josh: Then a girl walks past and we'll giggle.



EC: So, Call of Duty 4, or Call of Duty: World at War?

Zach: Oh oh oh oh, COD 4. Unfortunately there’s a very – there’s a definitive line between Triarch & Infinity Ward. Triarch tried to implement things that Infinity Ward brought to – I’ve gone to another planet now! – Infinity Ward makes better games. They were the first ones to really kind of put a stamp on the perks and for whatever reason

Josh: And the modern weaponry.

Zach: And the modern weaponry! I don’t mind the throwback weaponry, I just feel like the gameplay is a little wonky.

I expressed our preferences, nay necessity, for RPDs.

Zach: Shooting through walls is fun.

Who do the gents geek about? Dominic Monaghan.

Zach: Geek out!

Chris: What about us just hanging out in the kitchen and just talking, getting stories about Lord of the Rings?

Zach: Oh my gosh, yeah, it was so great and I mean we were just like, tell me more, Mr Monaghan! What was it like working with Frodo and the gang? And what exactly was the hatch about when you opened it up on the island?” It was just Nerdy McNerdison.



Anymore gimmicks? The few that got mentioned were Chuck Live, Chuck underwater, Chuck the musical, Chuck on ice, Chuck unplugged. Then Chris showed his true and deep geek colors by referencing the Whedonverse.

Chris: I think that’s the coolest of genre shows, where you get episodes of Buffy like Hush or the musical episode – just taking an episode and trying to do something different. We did one episode this year, Chuck vs Santa Claus where it was all set inside the Buy More and to do that I think is really fun, it was my favorite episode of the year so far.

They also had a massive group geek-out at a recent table read, which included such talents as Morgan Fairchild, Chevy Chase and, oh boy, Scott Bakula.

Which prompted this:


Because apparently the fact that I was at the convention to begin with didn’t appropriately broadcast my geekness.

The boys talked about conventions!




Josh: And to be thrust into things like this, places like this and coming to these events…the first time we went down to San Diego

Chris: It‘s like an adventure.

Josh: Yeah, and when you’re not used to it, you’re just like, ‘holy cow’. It’s definitely a new world.


EC: So you hadn’t quite crossed the geek line to attending conventions on your own, before?

Zach: We always wanted to!

Josh: We always talked about how we wanted to [go to Comic Con], we just never got a chance to.

Zach: San Diego is farther from Los Angeles than people realize. I mean it’s like a couple hours, it’s not that far, but it’s… traffic and this and that and the other and it’s like, I don’t wanna go, it’s just so far. So we never did. Then we got invited to go. THEN you go!

Here, here, gentlemen. Be seeing you there.

See full post

Five Ways To Avoid Screwing Up Y: The Last Man

***Spoiler Alert***

As one of the titles responsible for getting me back into comics, Y: The Last Man has a very special place in my heart. I've read every issue twice and make a habit out of lending the books out. It made me an instant Brian K Vaughan fan and as a result, I've gone on to read almost everything he's ever written. When I heard DJ Caruso was tapped to direct it...you know, he's not my first choice, but I enjoyed Disturbia just fine and even though Eagle Eye was completely implausible, I had fun. For me though, Y: The Last Man needs to be more than just fine or fun. It needs to be amazing. AMAZING. Thus my skepticism is growing larger and larger the more I hear about what Caruso is planning. So here, I will state what I think are the top five ways to avoid royally screwing up one of my favorite comics of all time.

5. Be fully prepared for the entire trilogy

Don't go into production on the first film without knowing what's gonna happen in the next two. Know which comics will be covered, which storylines will be omitted and what the overall theme and purpose will be of each film. In an interview with Sci-Fi in September, Caruso offered this tidbit

"If we get through this first one and then start thinking about the second ... I haven't given it much thought. It's just been actually very difficult to get the first one into a screenplay, because there's so much great stuff to choose from."

Um...okay, I hope when you say "get through this first one" what you mean is "get through the business of deciding we're definitely making this first one" because if you go any further than that without having any idea where you're headed, we're gonna have a problem. The material is too rich, too specific in its details to simply decide, eh, we'll get there when we get there. Caruso has said the focus of the first film will be on the relationship between 355 and Yorick but...that doesn't really become the focus of the comics until the latter third of the series. The first third is more about Yorick, first deciding to search for Beth, then along the way, discovering what his place will be in this new world through his encounters with various women, not just 355. In fact, the final issues are even more powerful because Yorick's bond with 355 kind of sneaks up on us. We realize, along with Yorick, just how important she is and has been all along, at the very effing end. If the first film blatantly focuses on their growing bond, as opposed to it being something organic happening in the back ground, the impact of the final act may very well be lost. If the audience WANTS Yorick & 355 together after the first movie, instead of wanting Yorick to find Beth 1 or see Beth 2 again, then DJ, you fucked it up.

4. Stick to BKV's Story

There is more than enough material to work with in those 60 issues. There is no reason to start adding "ticking clocks".

"One big change is that we put in a 'ticking clock' with Yorick and Ampersand, and I separated them, and Yorick starts to get a little sick when Ampersand's not with him. I felt like we needed some kind of ticking clock so it wasn't just a boy and his monkey."

This isn't Speed or Crank. The comic didn't need a "ticking clock" and the movie won't either. The source material is good enough without adding gimicks, I promise. Let's remember please that Y: The Last Man wasn't meant to be an action film. Sure, there is action in it, and it's fine to amp it up slightly (See Zach Snyder & Watchmen) but to add an uneccesary element that would change the entire dynamic of what this material is? No please. And don't get me started on this "just a boy and his monkey" business. Yorick's relationship with Ampersand might be more important THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN THE DAMN BOOK. I sobbed when Ampersand died, and when this scene comes in the third movie, every person in the audience should be sobbing too. Keeping them separated and using Ampersand as strictly a plot device and nothing more is not the way to go.

And keep the women, as many as possible, that's the point. He is surrounded by nothing but women. Women, women women. Keep Beth 1 (I heard rumblings that they were cutting her out which would be a HUGE MISTAKE - their reunion in Paris is beautiful and oh yeah, FINDING HER IS HIS EFFING RAISON D'ETRE) keep the first girl he cheats on her with, keep 711, keep the amazons. Sure, it's a lot, but make it work. You have 3 movies to do 60 issues, it won't be that difficult.

Caruso responds with this

"It is tricky to suggest changing things. I'm sure the fanboys will stone me and my kids for daring to change a thing. But Brian K. Vaughan [the writer of the comics] loves the ideas we've come up with. He even said, 'You have to think outside the box because the reason this story hasn't been made into a movie so far is that we haven't thought outside the box.'"

Which leads me to this - if anything were to be added, let it come from BKV. He wrote the damn thing and has experience with both the page & the screen. And I trust HIM to keep the themes of the comic alive. I promise I won't stone you, DJ, as long as you promise to keep any additions relevant and any subtractions minor.

3. Don't aim for a PG-13 rating

Have you READ the first issue? Granted Y is no Preacher, but that doesn't mean it should dumbed down or the violence/language eased up on. The opening of the film needs to do for the audience what that first issue did. Blood, guts, headless bodies and so on. It needs to be horrifying. Let it be dark when its dark and light when its light. Don't go into production with the mindset that you have to make it PG-13. Be true to the material and let the rating come out of that. This shouldn't be a PG-13 popcorn crap fest fast paced action movie meant for teenage boys. It's bigger than that.

2. Use a real monkey

I know Caruso has said he will use a real monkey, but I just have to stress, do NOT go back on this. No CGI, for the love of god. Use 18 monkeys for all I care, just make sure they are real.

1. Follow the Watchmen example when it comes to casting

This is EXTREMELY important. This film needs superb actors who are right for the roles. No stunt casting, no movie stars, no singers. Look at what Zach Snyder did. The casting in Watchmen is literally perfect. The actors look like the drawings to a tee and have real talent to bring to the table. I know Shia LeBeouf is a movie star who has made you lots of money, but he is not right for this role, DJ and you need to face that. And Alicia Keys as 355?! Stop it.

Have auditions, watch small films & television shows, investigate up and coming actors, put THOUGHT into this instead of simply running to your go-to-cash cow. I even commend JJ Abrams and his casting of the new Star Trek film. They are all relatively new, solid & look the part. So it IS possible, believe it or not.

Some suggestions? Zachary Levi from Chuck. I've heard it argued that Yorick would need to be slightly younger and shorter than Mr. Levi, but I think his his talent, charm & look make him a great candidate and I've been lobbying for him all over the internet. I certainly can't think of a single reason not to AT LEAST audition him.

I've also heard a lot of people tossing around Topher Grace's name. He doesn't do it for me, but again, maybe his screen test would be amazing. The point is, don't be lazy. There is probably an unknown actor out there born to play this role - how about you find him.

As for 355, I've heard both Zoe Saldana & Naomie Harris suggested, both of whom I think are great choices.

If any of my readers have suggestions or thoughts on the casting, please let me know!

Now I've witnessed in both others & myself the fanatacism of fandom. Was I upset that the third Harry Potter movie neglected to mention who Wormtail, Moony, Padfoot & Prongs were? Yes. Did I let it get in the way of enjoying that film? Absolutely not. Because normally I am very open minded and willing to accept that material often changes and elements are omitted as said material travels from medium to medium, but when it's come to Y: The Last Man...I'm gonna be a hard sell. Please don't screw this up, DJ Caruso. Please?

And now I leave you with some fanart by livejournal user franken_stein which I quite enjoy.

See full post