The newest casting rumor for J.J. Abram’s “Star Trek” movie is that actor Mike Vogel, from Abram’s “Cloverfield” has now been cast as a young Captain Kirk. Everyone seems to be spreading the rumor but I can’t get any confirmation or denial from my sources on if its true or not. You might recognize Vogel from “Sisterhood of the Travling Pants” or “Chainsaw Massacrer.”

But because I love you guys I did manage to find some plot spoilers for the film (major spoilers so be careful if you don’t want to know) (Read on …)

Was anyone else just annoyed by last night’s “Saturday Night Live” it wasn’t even remotely funny. That’s a bad bad sign for the coming season. I mean this was the season premier. The writers had all damn summer to put something together, but this was the best they could do? And why did they pick a basketball star for their host when the NBA finals were three or four months ago?

On his show last night, David Letterman seriously ripped Paris Hilton apart. If you missed it then you NEED to watch it. Here is just a sample of the goodness:

Letterman: Which do you prefer, New York City or Los Angeles?
Hilton: I like both. I like the weather in L.A. better but I love New York City.
Letterman: New York is exciting isn’t it?
Hilton: I was born here.
Letterman: Good for you. How did you like being in jail?

I was looking for a graphic artist for a project and I stumbled across the picture above. I don’t know why but for some reason I really like it. Of course I looked at so many people that I can’t remember who made it. So if you just happen to notice who did make it, then please let me know.

Jorja Fox (Sara) is leaving “C.S.I.” Her character was kidnapped in the last season finale by the Miniture Killer and was presumed killed. The behind the scene dirt on the cliffhanger was that Fox’s contract expired last season and she hadn’t renewed it with the network because she was waiting for more money. However a short-term deal was established and Sara was saved in Thursday’s season premier, but will leave the C.S.I. crew permanently in November.

Eater X won the World Burrito Eating Contest by scarfing down 10 and ¾ burritos in twelve minutes.

Tim Janus, 30 year old Eater-X, of New York City, said he prepared by just eating candy for a day, which he said helped clear his system. “I love Mexican food,” he said after his victory.

I don’t know anything about eating contests but how does eating candy help you prepare? Also, I wonder how bad his diarrhea was afterward.

The new theory is that Velociraptors had feathers on their forearms, which seriously bugs me because in my mind Velociraptors look like they did in “Jurassic Park” (the pic above is one I took at the Cleveland zoo).

A close study of a velociraptor forearm found in Mongolia shows the presence of quill knobs, bumps on the bone where the feathers anchor, researchers report in Friday’s edition of the journal Science.

“Finding quill knobs on velociraptor … means that it definitely had feathers. This is something we’d long suspected, but no one had been able to prove,” Alan Turner, lead author on the study and a graduate student of paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History and at Columbia University in New York, said in a statement.

So we’ve seen crazy bikes with too many wheels, but how about a giant unicycle? The Wheelsurf out of the Netherlands is just that. Well, on second thought, it’s more like a motorcycle without a backseat to pick up chicks.

The Wheelsurf’s Honda engine is capable of propelling it almost 20 miles per hour, and to stay upright the pilot needs to keep the center bar more or less level with the horizon. Turning is as simple (or as terrifying) as shifting your weight in either direction, and braking is accomplished through a combination of gently twisting the brake handle and leaning back at the same time. The only other daunting part of the Wheelsurf is the price, as it costs around $6,900.

The small Dutch town of Makkinga is undergoing an interesting experiment: they’ve gotten rid of all their traffic signs. Yep, there are no speed limit signs, no stop signs, no yield signs — no signs of any kind. The theory is that if you aren’t being told how to drive, you’ll drive more courteously. Sound crazy? Well, it happens to be working.

Yes, people drive slower and there are less accidents in the town as there were before the switch. What gives? Hans Monderman, one of the project’s co-founders, explains that:

“The many rules strip us of the most important thing: the ability to be considerate. We’re losing our capacity for socially responsible behavior. The greater the number of prescriptions, the more people’s sense of personal responsibility dwindles.”

That may be so, but somehow I don’t think we’ll be seeing the stop signs disappear here in the States anytime soon.

NASA is hiring astronauts, and if you have The Right Stuff, you might be one of 10 to 15 spacemen and spacewomen who will get to hang out (literally) at the International Space Station, float around in space, or chill out on a lunar base that might be in place by 2020. This is not going to be just a space walk in the park, though. NASA bosses say you’ll have to train for two to three years just to take your first flight. We hear the food isn’t that great, either, and if you’re prone to motion sickness, you might want to consider working at Mission Control instead. Are you up for it? Apply at USAjobs.com.

I’m on campus all day Fridays so to hold you over… here is Edit. She had just woken up from a nap. Isn’t she so precsious?

I decided to check in on Jackson Publick’s blog to see if there was any news regarding the return of “Venture Bros.” and it seems the blog has been quiet for almost a month. Though in his last posting he said: (Read on …)

Another great show is finally coming back to TV. Comedy Central announced that “The Boondocks” second season will premier on October 8^th. The show’s/comic creator Aaron McGruder enjoyed making the first season so much that he decided to stop making the comic strips and focus entirely on the series. So if you are looking for more Boondock-like political/racial/flat-out-humorous jokes then the only way you are going tog et them is through the animated series.

What? You are like me and don’t really understand the whole appeal to “anime” but for some reason you really love “Avatar The Last Airbender” and have been sad that it has been off air for nearly a year? Well have no fear! “Avatar” returns tomorrow for the third season premier (check Nickelodeon for exact air time).

Also don’t feel bad. The show isn’t “Anime.” I drives me crazy when people say it is. It’s produced by the same people who do “Sponge Bob” and made here in the United States. It’s NOT Anime. Plus, it has the best continuity for any cartoon I’ve ever seen (except for “Gargoyles”) and the writing actually has the characters completing full arcs and growing.

Bravo announced today that “Project Runway” will start airing again on Nov. 14^th. It’s by far the best reality show ever and even though I’m a very heterosexual male, I have no problem praising the editors, producers, and crews for putting together such an entertaining show. I mean come on… I HATE fashion and I know next to nothing about it, but absolutely love “Project Runaway.” Man, I can’t believe this show has been off air for almost a year now.

Sci-Fi sent out a press release saying that “Eureka” will be back for a third season of 13 episodes. Its probably one of the best shows currently airing on Sci-Fi and I’d choose it over “Battlestar Galactica” any day.

‘Eureka’ rose to an even higher creative level in its sophomore season, combining entertaining, compelling stories with deeper character development and great cast chemistry. And clearly the audience noticed, bringing millions of new viewers to the Channel,” says Mark Stern, Sci Fi’s executive vice president of original programming.

The first day numbers have been added up and “Halo 3″ made $170 million on its first day sales. Before the game went on sale, gamers pre-ordered 1.7 million copies of the game and 10,000 stores opened at Midnight on Monday. The $170 million tally does include those pre-orders as well as sales from the regular ($59), limited edition ($69), and legendary edition ($105) of the game.

Oddly enough, Perez of all places has an update on the Spider-Man Musical:

Bono and The Edge have been chosen as the team behind the musical version of Spider-Man. The fellas from U2 will work on the score and lyrics for the in development show and The Lion King mastermind, Julie Taymor, has been tapped to direct.

Things are moving along and the production team is looking for a space. “It’s a a big extravaganza, which needs a huge theater,” says Taymor.

Jeff Smith shared on his blog that he drew the front and backcover of Say Anything’s album:

I drew the front and back covers, as well a couple of spot illustrations to go with the liner notes. It’s a big double album, and since I like the band’s music, and I liked the guys ideas for it, I jumped in and had some fun. Say Anything is an indie/alt group touring as part of the first ever Myspace Music Tour.

Lego has just released their biggest and most insane set ever: a $500, 5,000-piece Millennium Falcon set so monstrous that the instructions alone weigh a whopping 4 pounds. It’s sure to take many, many hours to build, which is more than half the fun of Legos, and when all is said and done you’ll have a seriously impressive model to show off/play with.

As someone who grew up playing with Legos almost exclusively as well as enjoying (although not obsessing over) the Star Wars movies, this thing almost makes me want to get back into my old pastime. Almost, because there’s no way I’d ever spend $500 on Legos.

“Punisher: War Zone” has been through a number of cast and crew changes, from Ray Stevenson (”Rome”) replacing Thomas Jane as Frank Castle to director Jonathan Hensleigh being replaced with lesser known director Lexi Alexander.

And now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, two new actors are in negotiations to join the cast. (Read on …)

“The Sarah Connor Chronicles” producer James Middleton tells IGN Movies that “Terminator 4″ is still very much happening at The Halcyon Company and revealed some new details.

Penned by Michael Ferris and John D. Brancato (”Terminator 3″) and intended to be the first of three new movies, the new one will follow the events of “T3″ and be post-apocalyptic. While it’s not known whether Nick Stahl and Claire Danes will return, John Connor and Kate Brewster are indeed in the script.

The movie will feature a new hero which Middleton says would be like how “Ben-Hur was influenced by Jesus Christ, but it was his story. Much in that way, this character will be influenced by John Connor.” No director is set yet. Halcyon would like to be in pre-production in October for a 2009 release.

After weeks and weeks, Diamond finally informed us about their barcode policy. Here is the complete un-edited email they sent us:

Dear Vendor:

Please be advised, that, effective for product shipping to Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (Diamond) as of January 2008, Diamond will require all items to be marked or labeled with the appropriate scanner friendly bar code. Solid packed case quantities of items should also include bar codes on the case label or case markings. The preferred placement of the bar code for printed matter is on the front or back cover. (Read on …)

Craving for HUGE HUGE spoilers on the next “Indiana Jones” movie? Then look no further because I have it. Seems there was an extra that didn’t sign a non-disclosure agreement and spilled the plot of the movie to the press. So here is what I know: (Read on …)

Kevin James is set to co-write and star in the Sony Pictures comedy “Mall Cop” says the trades. James will play a mild-mannered security guard who patrols a shopping mall that’s taken over by highly organized thieves. Adam Sandler and his Happy Madison Prods. are producing the comedy. James is writing the screenplay with Nick Bakay. Production is set to take place in the spring and the movie will see a summer ‘09 release date.

Tim Kring announced that “Superman Returns” co-writer Michael Dougherty and Hostel writer/direct Eli Roth will each write an episode of “Heroes: Origins.” “Heroes: Orgins” was announced way back in may and when NBC said the series would run for six extra episodes. Those episodes will be standalone and will only feature a possible cameo by the main cast. The point of the episodes will be to introduce new characters and to tell their origin stories.

An assortment of news today on Warner Bros.’ all-star superhero film “Justice League of America.” Whilst the likes of Victoria Hill, Silvia Colloca, Ivana Milicevic have all tested for the role of Wonder Woman, trade paper Variety reports that Jessica Biel is already in talks.

The studio has declined to comment on any casting speculation, saying that it will announce the entire cast in one go rather than as each cast member joins. Biel is presently filming the indie drama “Powder Blue,” then shoots an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s “A Woman of No Importance” but has room pre-strike to shoot ‘Justice’. (Read on …)

There were three versions of “Halo 3″ released yesterday. The normal, the limited edition, and the legendary… most of you reading this blog aren’t geeks so I’m not going to waste my time explaining what the three versions were, but just know that the “limited edition” came in a metal case.

Turns out that about 30% of all the games shipped in the metal cases ended up with massive scratches. So millions and millions of gamers got home yesterday and couldn’t even play the game! As a result, Microsoft has put together a replacement program. Between now and Dec. 31st, anyone with a limited that is scratched can send the game to Microsoft and they will replace it. Directions on how to do so can be found on Halo’s and Bungie’s websites.

P.S. for anyone who has a scratched game… HAHAHAHAHA! Mine wasn’t scratched and I’ve been playing it like crazy!

Filming took a tragic turn on the set of The Dark Knight in the UK on Tuesday when a special effects technician died after a horrible accident. A special effects technician on the new Batman movie has been killed after a 4×4 truck hit a tree. The man died when the vehicle, which was carrying a camera platform, crashed on a test run while following a stunt vehicle, which is thought to have been the Batmobile.

A spokesperson for the film released the following statement:

“The entire cast and crew of The Dark Knight are deeply saddened by this tragedy and their hearts and prayers go out to the family and loved ones of the deceased.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, actress Sarah Paulson (Studio 60) has joined the cast of Frank Miller’s movie adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit.� She will portray Dr. Ellen Doyle, the police commissioner’s daughter and The Spirit’s true love.� She joins fellow stunners, Eva Mendes and Scarlett Johansson, who, unlike Paulson, will play femme fatales in Miller’s film, which starts shooting in October at Albuquerque studios in New Mexico. (Read on …)

A federal judge sentenced Hollywood director John McTiernan to four months in prison Monday after refusing to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea to a charge of lying to the FBI about his association with disgraced private eye Anthony Pellicano reports Yahoo. (Read on …)

I know I took a really long break because I just had a lot of crazyness going on and you my loyal readers deserve tons and tons of new updates… but I’m sorry. “Halo 3” is more important than you. I need to see Master Chief kick some serious Covenant ass and I need to go online and have my butt handed to me from high-pitched twelve year olds. But don’t worry, I’m only taking one day off and I’ll be posting again on Wednesday.

As a graduate film student, people always ask me “What’s your all time favorite movie” and it’s frustrating because I can’t answer that. Just like I can’t say what is my all time favorite book or my all time favorite TV show. I mean lets be honest, how do you pick “The Office” over “Grey’s Anatomy” or “Seinfeld” over “Friends.” …these are just things you can’t narrow down. However, I realized today that I have an all time favorite comic book, and because I can narrow down my favorite comic it just goes to prove how amazing the book truly was.

Jeff Smith’s “Bone” is easily the greatest comic book series I’ve ever read. I’m not an “art” person but even I could write several essay’s on Smith’s artistic skills. In fact, Dark Horse recently published a new book called “The Art of Bone” and even though it costs nearly $40 I just HAD to have it (You’ll see the book and my new Fone Bone plush in the pic above). (Read on …)

So what did you think of the “Family Guy” season premier (click here to see the full poster from the pic above)? (Read on …)

Diamond announced two weeks ago that they would require barcodes on every product they distribute. Since I’m not sorta in charge of an independent comic book publishing company (Th3rd World Studios) I was really upset to hear this.

Right away I contacted our diamond rep who basically shrugged and said “uhhh I dunno what’s going on.” Our rep then attended big meeting where everything was explained and he got back to us again and said “Well I know now that this takes affect starting with books shipping in January and other than that they are preparing paperwork to inform the publishers on how this will work.”

So its been two weeks and Diamond still hasn’t really told us what is going on. This is a huge deal and drastically affects small publishers like ourselves. You’d think diamond would have their shit together and bother letting the people who are really affected by this know what is going on. (Read on …)

I heard some seriously bad news from fellow blogger Jim Smash. Robert Jordan passed away. For those of you who don’t know, he’s the writer on “The Wheel of Time” books. The fantasy series was first published in 1990 I’ve been reading it since the first book, “Eye of the World,” came out. Jordan died of a complicated heart problem and was taken from us before he could finish the 12^th and final book of the series.

Basically, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the books, this is the equivalent of having J.K. Rowling die before she could finish the last Harry Potter books. This is a HUGE deal and millions and millions of fans world wide are seriously upset about not just losing a favorite author but about not knowing what happens to Rand al’Thor and the rest of the cast.

What is up with this show? I got Sho Time so that I could get caught up on “Weeds” and was shocked when I saw the first few episodes of “Californication.” I mean is it just me or is the show JUST about David Ducovney having sex with random women who are always topless. Even more disturbing is the fact that one of the topless women is Madeline Zima, who was the little girl on “The Nanny,” which is just weird! I’m only four episodes into the season but if it doesn’t get better by episode six I’m not going to keep watching. Also, as of right now, I recommend staying away from this show.

Wow. This is some pretty bad TV. I want to like it because it’s a spin-off of “Grey’s Anatomy” but its pretty bad. Basically the show tries to deal with medical drama like Grey’s does but it also tries to keep the whimsical light hearted tone that “Grey’s” had in its first and second season, but the show just doesn’t pull it off.

In defense of the show the second episode is better than the first and from “real” critics who have seen more than the first two episodes are saying that the show improves. So if you were a fan of “Grey’s” you may want to just DVR/TiVo/Tape this and fast forward through all the bad parts.

A few weeks ago video was posted on You Tube called “U need 2 leave Brittney Spears Alone!” where a fan broke down and cried about how the media and people should leave the former pop-star alone. It was later revealed that the “fan” who everyone thought was a girl was a bi-sexual-transexual-dude named Chris Crocker. Crocker then invited on several late night shows and people have been making fun of him big time. So in Crocker’s defense, Seth Green made a “U Need to Leave Chris Crocker” alone video which you HAVE to check out.

Filming on “Sex and The City: The Movie” started last Friday but spoilers are few and far between. However I did find out a small tidbit from a friend in NYC who saw the filming. They wrote me and said: (Read on …)