laurashapiro

Posted by Susana Polo

http://www.themarysue.com/sam-neill-jurassic-park-reboot/

http://www.themarysue.com/?p=90397

I have a pet theory. Well, it’s really more of a faith-based conjecture ungrounded in any evidence that I refuse to abandon. And it is that Sam Neill was brought back to the franchise for Jurassic Park III in the same way that his character was convinced to go back to Jurassic Park. They told him it was for something else and then flew him out there and didn’t let him leave until he’d made the movie/rescued that kid.

Glad to see they won’t be putting the actor through that for Jurassic Park IV.

Jurassic Park IV has been put on hold for undisclosed reasons (maybe their dinosaur supervisor quit?), but despite that, the flames of nostalgia run high, even within this very blog. It’s to be expected that Sam Neill, as the star of two thirds of the franchise, would still be asked about the new movie, no matter how tangential his relationship to it. He frightened a lot of nerds, however, when he used the fabled word “reboot.” From New Zealand’s Dominion Post:

As well as confirming that he is unlikely to be a part of next year’s Jurassic Park 4 (“I’m told it’s a big reboot, a total re-jig”), Neill confesses he hasn’t seen the new version of the original.

Now, before you panic, it’s unlikely that the actor means reboot in the way that it’s usually used. After all, the production is still calling itself Jurassic Park IV, no renumbering involved. What he means is probably that they’re not planning on bringing back any of the old actors or characters, starting fresh with some very old animals. That’s what the twenty-year-old Jurassic Park franchise obviously needs: is a hot, contemporary property to make it relevant to today’s audience. I nominate a crossover with Parks and Recreation. But that’s just a faith-based conjecture.

(via /Film.)

http://www.themarysue.com/sam-neill-jurassic-park-reboot/

http://www.themarysue.com/?p=90397

Posted by Rebecca Pahle

http://www.themarysue.com/amazon-fanfic-kindle-words/

http://www.themarysue.com/?p=90385

Not just any old fanfic. Your Star Trek/Supernatural crossover high school AU won’t earn you any dough quite yet. But with a new program called Kindle Worlds writers in certain fandoms, with more to come, will be able to publish their fic on Amazon. And earn royalties. Completely legally.

There is no gif that can express what my brain is doing right now. In text form, it’s “??!??!?!!?!?!?.”

Kindle Worlds, when it launches next month, will be teen-heavy, as Amazon has so far only secured the licenses to the Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and Vampire Diaries book series. For fics over 10,000 words the author will receive the standard royalty rate of 35%, with the rights holder getting a cut as well.

But don’t rush to submit your E-rated Vampire Diaries omegaverse epic quite yet; via the official press release, “Amazon Publishing will work with [the rights holders] to establish content guidelines that balance flexibility and openness for writers with what’s reasonable for the franchise.” Which is only to be expected, of course. If not official, Amazon-published fanfic will at least be official-ish in that they’ll sort of have the stamp of approval of The Powers That Be on them. And, to put it lightly, characters get up to some crazy, non-family friendly stuff in fanfic. There have to be some guidelines. (Please let proper grammar be another one, please please please…)

Writes Philip Patrick, director of business development and publisher of Kindle Worlds:

“At Kindle, we’re not only inventing on the hardware and software side of the business, we’re inventing new ways to create books. Our goal with Kindle Worlds is to create a home for authors to build on the Worlds we license, and give readers more stories from the Worlds they enjoy. We look forward to announcing additional World licensing deals in the coming weeks.”

This whole thing raises a slew of questions, among them how transparent the guidelines to determine what’s “reasonable” will be, whether Kindle Worlds will accept fics already published, how many people will be willing to pay for something that’s always been free, how much Amazon will charge, and if/how the availability of free fanfic will be affected.

I’d also be curious to know how much the rights owners get compared to the writers’ 35%. I can see being cynical when it comes to the money aspect of this; giant corporations (the publisher of Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and Vampire Diaries is owned by Warner Bros.) will be making money off of the labor of their fans. That’s not a viewpoint I share, though, because that’s what happens anyway: Fans put thousands of hours of effort into creating fic, graphics, crafts, etc., expecting nothing in return other than the object of their fandom being good. The fact that some of those fans will now be able to get paid for their efforts if they so choose is amazing. Some already are: Authors stripping fic of its fannish elements and republishing it as original fiction is becoming a more and more common practice. But there is some truly amazing fic out there, and I for one want to see more authors earn money off of it, even if it’s just enough to buy them a photo op at a con. If one of my favorite authors shows up on Kindle Worlds, you can be darn sure I’ll support them by purchasing their stories there.

Granted, though in theory this program sounds great, in practice there are sure to be bumps once it launches. If successful the pay-for-fanfic model will affect fannish culture as a whole, and probably not all in positive ways. One of the best things about fannish works is that they’re free and easily accessible to anyone, after all, which in turn feeds a vibrant fan culture. But I for one am really excited to see where this is going. Please don’t crash and burn before you can license one of my fandoms, Kindle Words.

(via: Deadline)

http://www.themarysue.com/amazon-fanfic-kindle-words/

http://www.themarysue.com/?p=90385

Posted by Susana Polo

http://www.themarysue.com/steven-universe-first-episode/

http://www.themarysue.com/?p=90372

While everybody else this morning is watching a new trailer for Man of Steel (we’ll post it later, I promise), you’re going to be different. A rebel. You’re going to watch the pilot for Steven Universe, created by Rebecca Sugar, the lady behind lots and lots Adventure Time‘s songs. It’s a show about three magical girl heroes, the Crystal Gems, and their over-eager protege Steven. And it’s pretty freakin’ great.

Edit: The original video disappeared! I’ve replaced it with another, and if that goes out, try here. And if that goes out, at least here are some screen shots and a synopsis.

http://www.themarysue.com/steven-universe-first-episode/

http://www.themarysue.com/?p=90372

Posted by Susana Polo

http://www.themarysue.com/things-we-saw-today-cardboard-david-tennant-has-some-explaining-to-do/

http://www.themarysue.com/?p=90358

Cardboard David Tennant has been getting up to some hijinks while we weren’t looking. (Tumblr)

• This woman wants to give birth to a shark, and I think it’s mostly a conceptual art project, but it’s still pretty fascinating. (The Frisky)
• Author Kameron Hurley wrote this incredible post about history, literature, and the failings and responsibilities of each to properly represent gender. It’s a must read. (A Dribble of Ink)
• This just might be a video of Andrew Garfield taking a break from shooting The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in order to play basketball with some kids. In costume. (SportsGrid)
• Victoria’s Secret has decided that making mastectomy bras is too much effort for them, so they’re just going to keep donating to cancer research. (Jezebel)

We’re digging the look in the eye of this Sideshow Collectibles Harley Quinn. (iGeektrooper)

http://www.themarysue.com/things-we-saw-today-cardboard-david-tennant-has-some-explaining-to-do/

http://www.themarysue.com/?p=90358

Posted by Susana Polo

http://www.themarysue.com/kevin-keller-kiss/

http://www.themarysue.com/?p=90350

Despite the fact that his eventual wedding was covered in Life With Archie, Archie Comics apparently hasn’t published a drawing of Kevin Keller, its first gay character, kissing another guy? Or maybe it just hasn’t in a main Archie title, LWA, is, after all, a slightly more serious title that follows the adult lives of the Riverdale gang.

Anyway, they’re going to print Kevin kissing his boyfriend in a story that seems hilariously like they’re thumbing their noses at One Million Moms. Why would Archie want to get in a dig at One Million Moms? Do you need to ask?

Way back last February when Life With Archie #16, the story in which Kevin Keller, US Armed Forces veteran returns to Riverdale to get married to his husband, was heading to shelves. One Million Moms, a numerically challenged activist group that ostensibly seeks to urge companies not to sell “offensive” products to children but whose newsworthy protests consist almost entirely of anti-gay activism, took issue with this and urged their members to try to get Toys ‘R’ Us to take the book off shelves. Toys ‘R’ Us did not capitulate, and the issue sold out, requiring multiple reprints.

USA Today describes the story of Kevin Keller #10 like this:

The Riverdale teen finds his life turned upside down after locking lips with his boyfriend, Devon, in Pop Tate’s diner, drawing the ire of at least one disapproving Riverdale mom. The woman “gets very offended and kind of pitches a bit of a fit,” said Dan Parent, who writes and draws the issue… “Kevin is kind of used to that, but Veronica records the whole thing and of course uploads it to the Riverdale equivalent of YouTube and that starts a bit of a debate.”

I see what you did there, Dan Parent. Also, you, like, totally admit that this is a “playful poke” at the controversy Archie Comics received for introducing Kevin, inspired by the Million Moms protest, and executed deliberately. Four for you, Dan Parent, you go Dan Parent!

(USA Today via Jezebel.)

http://www.themarysue.com/kevin-keller-kiss/

http://www.themarysue.com/?p=90350

Posted by Jill Pantozzi

http://www.themarysue.com/game-of-thrones-no-nudity/

http://www.themarysue.com/?p=90323

A Game of Thrones actress has just revealed one of her fellow cast members is tired of getting naked on the hit HBO series. 

If you watch Game of Thrones, you know it’s a common occurrance to have women walking around completely naked, and far less so, men. Previously, actress Natalia Tena had commented on this. “I think it’s really unfair, every actor, any actress has had her t-ts out. Every single actress I know,” she said. “Blokes it’s like, let’s see some @#$!. Do you know what I mean? Let’s make it more even.”

But Tena said she has no issues doing a nude scene if it’s called for and speaking with the Telegraph, Oona Chaplin, who plays Robb Stark’s wife Talisa on the series, agreed.

“If it’s done in a beautiful way, in a way that honours the female form, then I’m always happy to see it,” she told them. “The objectification lies in the eye of the beholder, just like beauty. I’m really comfortable getting my kit off, so, if they want to, I’m like, ‘yeah, bring it, I’m naked, no problem.’”

But not all of the women on Game of Thrones feel that way. Tena said, “One of the girls in the show who got her kit off the most in the first couple of seasons now doesn’t at all because she said, ‘I want to be known for my acting not for my breasts.’”

Tena refused to say which actress she was referring to but many have assumed it’s Emilia Clarke, who had a long stretch of being clothed before the most recent episode, and who’s faced issues getting nude on stage in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. But it could just as easily be any number of women on the series.

This conversation speaks to the larger trend in Hollywood, something we were discussing earlier as it pertains to Star Trek Into Darkness. What do you think about the nudity on Game of Thrones?

(via Think Progress)

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http://www.themarysue.com/game-of-thrones-no-nudity/

http://www.themarysue.com/?p=90323

Posted by Susana Polo

http://www.themarysue.com/helen-mirren-little-boy-meets-queen/

http://www.themarysue.com/?p=90322

Have you ever seen a kid at a Disney park who is clearly just so into that character interact with the cast member playing that character? And it doesn’t matter to that kid that the cast member doesn’t have exactly the same voice, or isn’t actually a cartoon character in real life: they know they’re meeting their hero, and it’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to them.

Well, that’s basically what happened here, except the “character” was Queen Elizabeth II, and the “cast member” was Helen Mirren.

10-year-old Oliver Burton is fighting his third battle with leukaemia, which he was diagnosed with at the age of three. With this third relapse, and his treatment complicated by the effects of Downs Syndrome, his parents have been told he has only weeks or months to live. Oliver’s greatest wish was to meet and have tea with Queen Elizabeth II, and when news of this reached the ears of Helen Mirren from the National Children’s Tumour Leukaemia Cancer Trust she decided to spring into action.

Hellen arranged, from her own pocket, for Oliver and his parents to receive tickets to her award winning play The Audience in which she plays the Queen. Afterwards, she invited Oliver and his mother backstage where she offered them tea and sandwiches in costume and in character. Oliver’s parents were a little worried that she might be stern in person: Mirren recently made minor headlines by storming out of her theater in full costume to berate a troop of drummers on the street outside because their music was intruding on the play. But Oliver’s father told The Daily Mail “She really was lovely.”

She stayed in character for the whole thing. Oliver thought she was the real Queen, and well, that’s good enough for us… She did the whole thing – had a butler there, was dressed in costume and did it all properly for him.

She sat in Oliver’s wheelchair and gave him her big chair. She had a glass of coke together and biscuits and little sandwiches and they even brought in her corgis from the show, Coco and Roco. She was wonderful and in some of the photos you do a double take because she really does look like the real Queen.

…He took his British flag and got her to sign it and just waved and waved it all day.

Mirren even made a show of knighting Oliver, telling him that everyone had to call him Sir Oliver from now on.

So if you’ve ever dressed up in costume and pleased a child, whether professionally or just because cosplay is fun, remember: Helen Mirren totally gets it.

(The Daily Mail via Digital Spy.)

http://www.themarysue.com/helen-mirren-little-boy-meets-queen/

http://www.themarysue.com/?p=90322