Filed under: Casting, RumorMonger, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

Part of the allure of Batman Begins was seeing a Batman I’d picked out a few years before (when my friend and I tried to figure out who the perfect people were to play all the iconic superhero roles). Now this latest influx of rumor-laden Batman 3 gossip is taking me back there. First, we had Angelina Jolie as Catwoman.

Now, Aceshowbiz reports that new “rumors” are tapping Johnny Depp and Philip Seymour Hoffman to grab villainous roles in Batman 3 (something tells me “rumors” means someone scoured the comment section on Cinematical during our Who Should Batman Fight Next post). I’m sure you need no help figuring out who would play who. For some reason, neither of these men ever occured to me, but they could do wonders with the roles — especially Depp. If you were going to take the RIddler, and make it dark Christopher Nolan-style, is there anyone who could even come close to Depp’s suitability? The Riddler came after Tim Burton’s days with Batman, but it could also give us an idea of how Joel Schumacher’s film would’ve been different with a darker touch. And PSH as the Penguin? So good.

But what do you think? Do you have any better ideas?

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Filed under: Drama, Casting, Deals, Celebrities and Controversy, Religious

It can be a challenge just to work with people you clash heads with, but imagine going back to work after a big lawsuit? Back in April of 2007, John Goodman started off the Pope Joan plague by backing out of the project and getting sued. Then there were those director kerfuffles, and then star Franka Potente had to back out because the film was taking too damned long to come together. But now at least one drama is righting itself.

Variety reports that the case between Goodman and Constantin films has been settled, and he is once again starring in the film as Pope Sergius. But that’s not all. David Wenham has also signed on to the film and will play Gerold, “a kind knight who becomes Joan’s greatest love” as she disguises herself as a man and takes the papal throne. Too bad he’s not playing a creepy guy again. He was excellent as Eden Fletcher in The Proposition.

With the cast now in place, the film is finally schedule to begin production next month in Germany and Morocco.

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Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Casting, New Releases, Celebrities and Controversy, Politics

The basic scenario behind Swing Vote makes for an easy pitch: An average American (Kevin Costner) winds up in the position of casting the deciding vote in a presidential election. Both candidates (played by Kelsey Grammer and Dennis Hopper) fly into town and try to woo him. It’s a simple premise clearly aimed at exploring the various quirks of the political process. However, although it is quite a fantastical situation, the filmmakers have put quite an effort into incorporating at least one element from the real world: News anchors. Countless movies have asked Jay Leno and his fellow late night brethren to make cameos on TV joking about this or that bit of plot to add a sense of realism, but Swing Vote brings a slightly different set of rules to the table: The presidential candidates are clearly fictional (and Grammer, the Republican candidate, doesn’t have many Bush-like qualities), while the news anchors, for the most part, play themselves. If you ask me, something doesn’t quite add up here.

Chris Matthews blares into the camera about the ramifications of the election snafu. Tucker Carlson follows suit. Larry King delivers his trademark monotone. And Arianna Huffington gets a full-blown monologue. How is it that all these people can play themselves in a world with a completely different president, one virtually devoid (as far as we can tell) of modern talking points like the Iraq War and the beleaguered economy? It’s almost as if they’ve been imported from another dimension.

Continue reading Discuss: Do Real Media Celebrities Make Sense in Fiction?

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Filed under: Celebrities, Reality-Free

In a move that has me shaking my head, Freddy Prinze, Jr. will be working behind the scenes at World Wrestling Entertainment for both their television product and pay-per-views. I recognize that wrestling is a big industry and Freddy’s movie career hasn’t been exactly stellar as of late (I’m sure he’s done movies, but none I’ve heard of), but wrestling?

“Bringing on board an experienced Hollywood writer, actor and producer like Freddie Prinze Jr. will only increase the level of entertainment to millions of viewers and passionate WWE fans every Monday on USA,” said Chris McCumber, Executive Vice President Marketing Digital and Brand Strategy at USA Network.

Continue reading Freddie Prinze, Jr. in WWE…WTF?

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Filed under: Late Night, TV Royalty, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free

Here’s who’s on the late night shows tonight.

• Charlie Rose: Governor Tim Kaine
• The Daily Show: Ben Wattenberg
• The Colbert Report: Crosby, Stills, & Nash
• The Late Show with David Letterman: Pam Anderson, James Franco, and Atmosphere
• Jay Leno: Rainn Wilson, Emeril Lagasse, and Sergio Mendes
• Jimmy Kimmel Live: David Duchovny, Katharine McPhee, and Wendy Liebman
• Tavis Smiley: Louise Hay (repeat)
• Late Night with Conan O’Brien: Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, and Gogol Bordello
• The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson: Michelle Yeoh, Tom Sullivan, and Jakob Dylan
• Last Call with Carson Daly: Harland Williams and Sheryl Crow (repeat)

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Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Video, Celebrities, Reality-Free

So, what’s more evil to you, ultimate fighting or bloggers/commenters?

That’s the question that will be debated tonight at 10:30 pm on the second season opener of Comedy Central’s Root of All Evil. Arguing that ultimate fighting is worse is Andy Daly, while Patton Oswalt argues that blogs and the people who comment on them (cough) are the true evil in this world.

You know, even though I blog all day long I can see Oswalt’s point, especially about the comments left on some blogs. I mean, at least with ultimate fighting, if you don’t like it, you can ignore it completely. It’s a niche thing. But if you’re the type of person who reads blogs and reads the comments section of many blogs or you work on the web, it’s hard to get away from, and many comments are just…ugh. It’s easy to do when you’re anonymous. You can really put forth the hate and vitriol (but not here, because TV Squad readers are absolute saints).

Oswalt has a blog too. Not sure if he reads the comments. After the jump, the opening arguments from tonight’s show.

Continue reading If you comment on this post, Patton Oswalt will hate you - VIDEO

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Filed under: Action, Casting, RumorMonger, Fandom, Angelina Jolie, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

It has begun.

Not even two full weeks after The Dark Knight arrived in theaters, we officially have our first Batman 3 rumor! (Speaking of, we have to decide what to call Nolan’s next Batman movie. Dark Knight 2? Batman 3? NolanMan 3? Lets get on that …) But anyway, the rumor actually comes from another Catwoman: Julie Newmar. Speaking to the New York Daily News, Newmar says, “Angelina would own the part. My industry friends tell me [she] has made inquiries about the role.” She went on to add, “I can understand how it would pique her interest. Catwoman is Batman’s one true love. She’s tremendously popular with women because she’s both a heroine and a villainess. When you look at the staggering box office of this current film, which actress wouldn’t want to jump in?”

So is Jolie really looking to play Catwoman in a third (and possible final) Batman film from Christopher Nolan? No doubt Bale and Jolie would look good together on screen, and the woman definitely knows how to hold her own when it comes to action. What do you think? Do you Bat-fans want Brad Pitt’s gal in Gotham City?

View Poll

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Filed under: Comedy, Casting

If you were going to create a gallery of rogues, what actors and actresses would you include?

Personally, I’d throw some Christopher Walken in with some Lena Olin, Henry Rollins, Gary Oldman, perhaps some Lena Headey and Jackie Earle Haley … just to name a few. But maybe I’m completely off because this is a different type of rogue. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Ving Rhames *, Ellen Barkin, Rob Corddry, Bob Odenkirk, Jeffrey Tambor, and Maggie Q have signed on for a new action comedy called Rogue’s Gallery — which already stars Joe Anderson, Odette Yustman, Adam Scott, and Emilie de Ravin.

Written by Brian Watanabe and Abe Levy, and directed by Fouad Mikati, the film focuses on “the battle that ensues among groups of government spy teams in an underground facility after their boss is assassinated.” Are there that many spy teams? Do they then use their super spy skills to try and take the others down? The premise sounds like it could have promise.

The film is currently shooting in LA, but we can still dream of our own group of rogues. Who would make your list?

*Okay, he’d definitely make my rogue cut.

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Filed under: News, Industry, Celebrities

Who’s ready for a Sugar Ray reunion? Anybody? Hello?

Well, ready or not, you’re going to get one. Mark McGrath, the Sugar Ray frontman-turned-entertainment-reporter is leaving Extra. Some reports say he’s been fired, but The Hollywood Reporter is claiming that he really just wanted to get back to the band.

McGrath has been on hiatus from Sugar Ray for the past three years as he hosted Extra, but now the band is heading back to the studio and Mario Lopez is stepping up to take his spot behind the anchor desk. Lopez’s much lauded muscles are apparently too big to share the stage, though. McGrath’s co-host, Dayna Devon, has been demoted to Special Correspondent and backup host for Lopez.

I will always look at Lopez as A.C. Slater, so the idea of him becoming a “journalist” kind of makes me laugh. But then again, it’s not like Mark McGrath was exactly the second coming of Cronkite. Besides, anyone who could stand 6 inches away from Miss Teen South Carolina as she rambled on about “The Iraq” without completely losing it obviously has some talent.

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Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, Celebrities

Prickly, acerbic TV chef Gordon Ramsay has probably racked up his share of enemies. However, I doubt that even he would have guessed that the one that would nearly lead to his demise would be the great and powerful … uh, puffin. That is exactly what happened however, as Ramsay had a very close call while in Iceland shooting scenes for his British series, The F Word.

Ramsay was out hunting puffins when he fell into icy water as he was making a 280 foot descent. His crew threw in a line after he failed to surface after 45 seconds. The experience had Ramsay thinking he was a “goner,” saying, “My boots and my waterproofs were dragging me down. I’m an extremely good swimmer, but I couldn’t get to the surface. I was panicking and my lungs were filling with water. When I got to the top after getting my boots off I was dazed and my head was totally numb.”

Continue reading Puffin: 1 Gordon Ramsay: 0

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