Happy Christmahanukawanzafest!

As I sit here in my living room surrounded by lights (both electric and candles), listening to Christmas music on the radio...I'm reminded that yet another Christmas has come and nearly gone. It seemed so far away and the past few days have flown by spent rushing around preparing for yesterday and today. Next up will be New Year's and then we'll be into a brand new 2015. I get to decide if I want to do anything for my 28th birthday (omg it's been 10 years since I graduated High School!) and a week later our first Skype birthday for my sister (we're both January babies).

It's no secret if you know me, or have been following this blog, I am a fan of Christmas and the winter season in general. I look forward to it more than any other holiday/time of year. So I'm always a little sad to see it go. All that preparation and lead up to one special day. Then, it's over so quickly, back to work tomorrow and all the radio stations switch back over to their normal broadcasting. At least the decorations get to stay up until the new year, we usually don't take them down until the second weekend in January. The first weekend is too soon and we're not ready to let go of the decor just yet.

This evening my mother and I will have Christmas dinner with my sister, brother-in-law, the baby, before they fly back to Tennessee tomorrow morning. It will be another little while before we see them all again, in person. Hopefully they'll be able to come back for our cousin's wedding in March. But, we were happy to have them here at all, which I count as a big Christmas present from my father to us all since he was able to pay for their flights back here. Christmas has always been about family...spending time with loved ones and family friends and enjoying each other's company, never about the presents. We as a country have always been fueled by materialism fed by infinite commercials pitching the must have gifts with malls and stores tempting shoppers to open credit accounts to spend more than they can afford. We've all spent a little too much on gifts at some point in our lives, to show our loved ones how much they're loved and appreciated. There's nothing wrong with that, in years where I had a bit more to spend, I did the same. As long as we remember to keep true to what's important, family and friends, then you'll never go wrong at Christmas.

Alright, mushy and serious stuff aside...I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and that the remainder of your holiday season continues to be merry and bright!

A Female Han Solo

A female Han Solo? What? I know, you're confused, it's ok. Grab a hold of your Ewok stuffed toy, sit back and let me regale you with this awesomeness. So, a few nights ago, there was a live read of Star Wars The Empire Strikes back in LA at the Ace Hotel Theater. The live read was part of a series of live-readings arranged by Jason Reitman. The idea behind the live reads is for different actors to read scripts from famous movies without reading the script first, so doing the performance cold. He's arranged several movie live reads so far but this is the first one that has caused a stir with his casting of a female Han Solo.

The female in question is talented actress Ellen Page who you will remember from such movies as Juno and Inception. She read the famous response to Leia's confession of love opposite equally talented actress Jessica Alba, and from what sources say she nailed it. Sadly, the video footage of the live read is down and has been since Friday (the day after the performance). I didn't get to see it but based on the cast of actors chosen, I am inclined to believe the entire thing was quite awesome. Mark Hamill was involved but not as you would expect. While he is reprising his famous role for the Star Wars movie due out next year, in this live-read Hamill took on the roles of Palpatine and the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi while Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad fame took on the role of Luke Skywalker. Chewbacca was read by The Office's Rainn Wilson and Darth Vader was read by J.K. Simmons (Law & Order, Oz, Spiderman 1, 2 & 3).

One can only hope that video of this event will surface again in the future. If not, I say we start a petition to get a short film made because this is the type of stuff that should be shared with the world. It could certainly be something to hold fans over until the new Star Wars movie premiers. It's just a thought.

Oops, I Did It Again

I seem to have replaced one obsession with another and fell off the face of the planet with this blog again. Oops. My novel is nearly complete (yes nearly, I haven't gone back to it since the end of November. No it's not a permenant break just an extended writing vacation). Ahem. As I was saying, TV. Oh, I wasn't saying that? Well, I may have jumped the gun a bit, but come now. Surely you gathered for yourselves that the other obsession I was alluding to was TV. I've been attempting to catch up on all the DVR'ed shows that I fell behind on due to writing. Mission status: marginally successful. I'm now caught up on all the shows on the downstairs DVR. Which means...yup you guess it, still the DVR in my bedroom left to go. But with all the shows now on break until January (some longer, I'm talking to you The Walking Dead) I should be able to tackle that one soon.

Especially, when I'm just not that impressed with the Christmas movies on the Lifetime channel this year. They just seem so-so this year, or they play ones I've seen plenty of times already. I'd like something new. What does a girl have to do to get some decent Christmas movies around here? Now of course I have my trusty VHS tapes (kids ask your parents) and DVDs of the classics, so I'll be watching those but there are some that I don't have in my collection. At the moment, I don't have the funds to go out and buy every movie I'm missing, as much as I would love to. But I haven't seen them in the TV guide and it's making me a bit frustrated. Don't even get me started on Netflix. Four of my favorite Christmas movies were on Netflix last year so I was able to watch them easily, but this year...zero zip zilch. That is not to say they don't have any Christmas movies, they do. But the selection is mildly entertaining at best. But they do have the Dreamworks Christmas Specials (Penguins, Shrek, Kung Fu Panda) and a Lady Gaga & The Muppet's Christmas Special. She is one talented lady.

However, none of the afore mentioned Netflix offerings are worth watching repeatedly. So now that I've seen them, Netflix has become a mute point in my search for Christmas cheer in visual form. Even Amazon Prime wasn't much help. The movies I yearn for are the ones that never get old and can be watched again and again. It's come down to purchasing said movies at some point probably after Christmas, when I'm able. Ain't that a kick in the head? You said it Deano.

It's Elementary! Sherlock Star to Play Doctor Strange Plus 30 Seconds to The Joker

Finally, as hoped, Marvel announced today that Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch has indeed been signed and will officially be playing the role of Doctor Strange in their movie set for 2016. On Nov. 4th, Benedict "will show audiences what makes Doctor Strange such a unique and compelling character." The quote (sourced directly from Marvel.com) from Producer Kevin Feige explains why they decided on Cumberbatch, basically wanting someone who was capable of showing depth and sincerity. If anyone has proven their acting chops lately, it's been Benedict Cumberbatch. The man has been adding to his acting credits like crazy in the past 4-5 years, starting most notably with the much loved BBC series Sherlock and including such films as: 12 Years A Slave, War Horse, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, August: Osage County, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Fifth Estate, Parade's End. Not to mention most recently his portrayal of Alan Turing in the movie The Imitation Game coming to theaters soon, as well as, his voice acting lending his voice to the dragon Smaug in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit series. To say the man is everywhere, would not be an exaggeration and frankly it's due to his brilliant acting ability, down right love-able personality and unique sex appeal.

The news of Cumberbatch of course coming on the heels of DC's own major cast announcement for their upcoming Suicide Squad movie, made a couple days ago. The most important of the cast announcements being Jared Leto, front man of the band 30 Seconds to Mars, he is to play The Joker. Leto will be the first actor to step into the shoes of the iconic Batman villain since the late Heath Ledger. While some may know Leto as a singer, he is also an acclaimed actor. He won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in Dallas Buyer's Club and his first acting job dates back 20 years to My So-Called Life. He's been known to take long hiatuses from acting and it was in one such hiatus that he worked on music and making albums with his band, including touring for 5 years. So he's no stranger to acting and he does take it quite seriously. Similar to Daniel Day Lewis, he's known to be a method actor--disappearing into his roles during filming. Leto was a favorite for the role and it's a good match. The other two announcements were for the characters of DeadShot and Rick Flag played by actors Will Smith and Tom Hardy respectively. They join previously announced Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney as Boomerang, and Cara Delevingne as Enchantress.

So lots happening lately in both the Marvel and DC worlds, with more announcements pending. For now, all we can do is continue to wait and hope our wait is justly rewarded. So far, so good.

Save Constantine

What is this nonsense I hear about there being a need to save Constantine? There shouldn't have to be a need to save this show. Why? Because it's a fantastic show and should most definitely get a second season. I'm not just saying this because I have a thing for John Constantine played by the talented UK actor Matt Ryan. I mean come on, the cast is amazing. Have you seen some of the things Matt Ryan has had to do in this show? There was an episode where he was covered in blood and chanting some type of spell, it was a great bit of comedy to break up the dark and serious tones of the show. Which brings me to another point, the drama this show brings is some great TV--well written. Each episode has intriguing plots and clever dialog often in a myriad of different languages. The show does have darker subject matter, but it really needs to, in order to accurately portray not only John's personal situation but the state of the world he inhabits. 

I will admit, I haven't read Hell Blazers, the DC comic from which the character of John Constantine originates. But I'm certainly going to read them now. The show has drawn people back to these comics and if it goes away, how will I be able to compare the two and get excited about things from the comics being incorporated into the show? Shouldn't I have been doing that already? Yes, probably. But I've been a bit busy ok, that's what TV show breaks are for. I just really want there to be a show coming back after said break.

I can't be the only one who feels that way, in fact I know I'm not the only one. There are plenty of fans of the show. The People's Choice Awards even have Constantine in a category for Best New TV Drama, I believe. I could be slightly off about the category name but it's definitely there--I voted for it. Maybe if more people vote for it and the show wins a people's choice award, we can secure it's second season. It's certainly worth a shot right? Right. So get on it folks, vote.peopleschoice.com. I honestly believe the show is worth it. Let's help Matt Ryan (John Constantine), Charles Halford (Chas), Henry Perrineau (Manny the Angel), Angelica Celaya (Zed), writer Daniel Cerone, and director Neil Marshall--amongst others--keep their show and continue to bring us quality television in the form of a damned man lodged in a fight against evil. 

Save Constantine.

Nerdtastic Trailers

By now, you will have already seen the nerdtastic movie trailers floating around the interwebs. I am of course referring to Jurassic World and Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens. If you have yet to see these trailers, for the love of all things nerdy crawl out from under the rock you've been living under and Google this business. I was sick all week and I still found time during my congested misery to watch these trailers...numerous times. Once you've done that, come back here and keep reading, or proceed now but there will be spoilers ahead. Now you're probably asking yourself, but Stefanie, these are just trailers why would I care about spoilers? Hey, I don't care either way, but some folks might be touchy about trailer spoilers. I'm not one such person, but I'm a big supporter of a spoiler free environment when it comes to everything else. It's one of the main reasons I stay away from Twitter on days when my shows are on, or when I'm behind. Those East Coasters be tweeting spoilers!

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. A couple days before Thanksgiving, Steven Spielberg gave us the long awaited continuation to the Jurassic Park series--Jurassic World. Set 22 years after the events of the original Jurassic Park (yes, it's been that long, 1993). The park has been reopened and consumers are flooding to the island by the thousands like some kind of prehistoric Sea World/Zoo. The new company in charge of the whole shebang seems to have learned from its predecessors' failures. Well...sort of. The eager beaver scientists have done the impossible, they have created the world's first genetic hybrid creature. Said creature escapes and chaos ensues, cue the motorcycle raptor pack! No idea what that means? Well you would know if you saw the trailer. Jurassic World will follow two young brothers as well as (from Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy fame) park employee Chris Pratt and scientist Bryce Dallas Howard (known for such "twisty" Shyamalan films as The Village and Lady in the Water). I foresee the lives of these characters becoming quickly intertwined through their shared need for survival. Otherwise there wouldn't be a movie. I know, I'm a genius. But seriously, this has the makings of being a great movie and I am certainly looking forward to seeing it. Jurassic World is directed by Colin Trevorrow and will be climbing over 40 ft walls to get to a theater near you on June 12th, 2015.

Now we jump to the trailer of a movie 30 years in the making--Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. George Lucas brings us the fourth film in the continuation of this space adventure (because I'm of the mind to pretend that episodes 1-3 don't exist) set 30 years after the events in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi (1983). To the joy of many fans, myself included, this film sees the returning characters of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia still played by Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher. Aside from the favorites we will be introduced to many new characters and a younger cast experiencing the world of Star Wars for the first time. Just to quickly name a few: Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Pt 1 & 2), John Boyega (Attack the Block), Adam Driver (Girls, TV series), and Daisy Ridley (Silent Witness, TV Series). "There's been an awakening...have you felt it?" The opening line of the the teaser sends a tingle down your spine. We then are immediately introduced to a very alarmed John Boyega dressed as a storm trooper. We catch glimpses of more storm troopers and other characters before the disembodied voice continues, "The dark side and the light." Cue the awesomeness! The (new) but entirely recognizable theme music plays as the Millennium Falcon zooms into view and....the title font! If you couldn't tell, I was really excited about that part. It also made me think that my suspicions of adoption may be justified considering the fact that when I explained this trailer to my mother, I got this response "What's the Millennium Falcon?" Yup, definitely adopted (I'm just kidding, Mom). As soon as I added, Han Solo's space ship, it jogged her memory. Moving right along. Despite the theme music and the iconic space ship, the trailer left much to be desired with their being no Mark, Harrison, or Carrie. But, that of course could be the point and there is still plenty of time for more footage to be released. For some disgruntled fans, Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens is not the movie you are looking for...but I think otherwise. My butt will be in a seat come December 2015.

30,000 Words Players!

Yesterday was the end of November. I know, nothing new, that's what months do. But if you'll recall...the most famous reindeer of all. No, wait, stop getting distracted. If you'll remember--that's better--I spent all of November trying to write a novel for National Novel Writing Month. Yesterday marked the end of the frantic word-making. I am happy to announce that I hit my personal goal of 25,000 words and then continued right on past that to finish out the month with just over 30,000 words. This still left me 20,000 shy of the overall NaNoWriMo goal of 50,000 words. But I can honestly say, I am as pleased as punch (what does that even mean?) to have not only reached the halfway mark, but breezed past it. Now I will admit, I probably could have hit the 50k word mark in the last week--I had quite a lot of time off work. But I spent a few days fighting off a fever and the over all desire to be put out of my misery, none of which is conducive to writing. So those days were well spent...sleeping, there was so much sleeping. Thanks to that, my cold is all but gone and I only have a lingering cough. But I digress. Needless to say, I now have my life back and every waking moment is no longer split between word smithy and work. I can once again focus on the blog. The poor neglected blog. Admit it, you missed me too. Basically, brace yourselves. Heeeeeeere's Johnny! Well...oh you know what I mean.