Meet the Governator, and much more fun stuff

Where better to start than with easily the funniest thing I found in my morning reading? I suppose when you're Arnold Schwarzenegger, your life has pretty much been a comic book from the start, so why not make it official?

It seems the former governor of California has teamed up with Stan Lee to turn his nickname, the Governator, into a new comic book and animated series. Yes, really.

Here's what Lee had to say about it to Entertainment Weekly: "The Governator is going to be a great superhero, but he’ll also be Arnold Schwarzenegger. We’re using all the personal elements of Arnold’s life. We’re using his wife [Maria Shriver]. We’re using his kids. We’re using the fact that he used to be governor. Only after he leaves the governor’s office, Arnold decides to become a crime fighter and builds a secret high-tech crime-fighting center under his house in Brentwood."

I really can't see myself buying this, but just to show that I'll probably never get too old to buy an occasional comic book or two, I did pony up the other day for a copy of Kick-Ass 2 #1, which should be coming in the mail any day now.


Am I the only person who looked at that photo above and first thought, "separated at birth"? In the second funniest thing I found this morning, and in something that shouldn't tax his acting skills much at all, it seems that John Travolta will be playing John Gotti Sr. in a new movie called "Gotti: Three Generations," to be directed by Nick Cassavetes.

The movie will focus on the relationship between John Gotti Sr., the head of the Gambino crime family who died in prison in 2002, and his son John Gotti Jr., who took over the family business for his father, served time in prison, but then successfully escaped conviction in four subsequent racketeering trials. But really, I just wanted to post that picture, so that's all I really have to say on the subject.

Moving on, if FX is ever going to have any successful dramas, it could certainly do worse than signing the first family of "Friday Night Lights," my favorite TV drama of the last 10 years or so (yes, better than "Mad Men").

Connie Britton has apparently already signed on for something from "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy to be called "American Horror Story." I have no idea what it's about, but keep an eye out for it on FX's fall schedule.

And now, it seems that FX is courting Coach Taylor too, for a different series called "Powers." Kyle Chandler hasn't signed on yet, but if he does, it would be for something that sounds potentially pretty great.

Based on the graphic novel by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, "Powers" will be a police procedural set in a world where superpowers are relatively common. It centers on two detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, in a homicide department that deals with cases involving "powers." (people with superpowers).

Look for supernatural police forces to appear in some form in at least two other shows coming this fall, because of course no idea these days comes about in a vacuum, but if Chandler signs on for "Powers," you can bet that's the only one I'll be tuning in for when it most likely premieres in early 2012.

OK, to wrap up with the TV segment, at least until we get to the videos, how better to start a Thursday morning than with a photo of Amber Heard in a Playboy bunny suit? I can't think of too many.

She's starring in the fall NBC series "The Playboy Club," which she's described to Comingsoon.net as "a crime drama centered around the Playboy clubs of Chicago in the 1960s." I'm not sure that's enough to get me to tune in for the whole series, but I think I'll at least give the pilot a try this fall. Here's the photo:


OK, now on to the videos, and where better to start than with Jim Henson? This new site is dedicated to his history, and it's well worth a visit. Among the gems you'll find there is this short pilot of sorts he did in 1968 - before either "Sesame Street" or "The Muppet Show"- for a potential TV series based on the Wizard of Id comic strip. Nothing came of it, of course, but the clip is a lot of fun, and you'll certainly recognize the voices. Enjoy.



Can you ever possibly bring together too much funny? I doubt it, but HBO is testing that theory with its upcoming special "Talking Funny," which will rather amazingly make Jerry Seinfeld the least funny guy in the room. Not an insult really, just my personal opinion that Ricky Gervais, Chris Rock and the great Louis C.K. are all funnier than he is. Anyways, the four of them will be getting together for this "casual conversation" that should certainly be a hoot when it airs April 22 at 9 p.m. EST on HBO, and keep an eye out for the second season of C.K.'s rather sublime "Louie" series coming to FX in June. Enjoy the "Talking Funny" trailer.



And finally today, color me jealous of all you folk who get BBC America, which my cable provider charges too much for me pony up for. Coming to the network starting April 23 will be the new season of "Doctor Who," and based both on the very entertaining Christmas special and this latest trailer, it looks like a wildly fun ride. Enjoy the trailer, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Play ball!

Bryan Singer making return to the X-Men? Bring it on

After watching the purely craptastic "X-Men: The Last Stand" and the entirely mediocre "Wolverine," I wasn't sure there was anything that would be able to bring me back to the franchise at this point, but Bryan Singer - rather amazingly - is about to do it.

Stealing more than a bit of the thunder from the Los Angeles premiere of "Avatar" Wednesday night, Singer let slip to a MySpace television crew that he had indeed signed on the previous day to direct "X-Men: First Class," which should be nothing but cool.

Why? Well, Singer, of course, directed the first two X-Men movies, and while "X-Men" is a perfectly fine superhero movie, "X2: X-Men United" is one of the very best in the genre, right up there in my book with "Spider-Man 2."

Here's exactly what Singer had to say about the matter: "I'm ramping up to do a movie called 'Jack the Giant Killer' at Warner Bros, and I just yesterday signed a deal to do an 'X-Men: First Class Origins' picture, which is kind of cool. I'm very excited."

I have yet to see any actual confirmation of this from the trades, but since I'm at least willing to assume the man isn't flat-out lying, I have to take this as true and great news, made all the more unlikely given how Singer spurned Fox once already to direct "Superman Returns" instead of the third X-Men flick (which I don't think even he could have saved.

But what exactly is "X-Men: First Class"? Well, it comes from a script by "Chuck" co-creator Josh Schwartz, and will look at the early days of our mutant friends at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. Schwartz has yet to do anything wrong on TV in my book (yes, I even watch "Gossip Girl," and "Chuck" is simply fantastic), so this certainly now seems to be in all the right hands.

Is Disney killing achingly bad comedies?

Probably not, but John Travolta and Robin Williams certainly have to be wondering if that's the studio's new mission.

First this week (or maybe last, I really don't know) came news that new Disney boss Rich Ross (not to be confused with the Miami rapper Rick Ross, I suppose) had terminated a virus called "Wedding Banned" (get it?), which would have been a "comedy" starring Williams about a divorced couple who kidnap their daughter on her wedding day in order to prevent her from making the same mistakes they did. Even though the always very funny Anna Faris and Diane Keaton (as daughter and mother, I presume) were set to co-star in this, it's probably best that it never sees the light of day.

And now, Disney has also stepped in to stop the "Wild Hogs" plague too. "Wild Hogs 2: Bachelor Ride," would have brought back Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and even poor William H. Macy for a production that would have launched next summer, with Walt Becker coming back to direct again, but Disney has halted all that for good.

Like I said, I don't really believe this puts even a dent in the bad comedy factory, but it has to at least be some kind of progress, right?

"The Freshman," the tv show?

My fellow cubicle slave John Parnell likes to quote from "The Freshman" all the time. Remember that one? I do, and though it was a genuinely funny flick, most of its charm came from the truly oddball pairing of Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick in the tale of a NYU freshman who gets involved with the mob (and fine dining and exotic lizards, of course.)

Now it seems that USA, which has unleashed a flurry of original shows in the past few years ("Burn Notice" is one I always tune in for, and it will soon return for a fourth season), has latched on to this idea for a series, with the movie's writer/director, Andrew Bergman, on board to at least write the series adaptation.

Can this work? I seriously doubt it, because like I said, most of the charm of the original came from the Brando/Broderick combo, and obviously that can never happen again. USA, however, has proven me wrong before, so certainly keep your eyes on this one.

OK, what else? Well, I suppose I could have led with this, but it's easily only the second-best superhero movie news of the day. Below is the first trailer for Jon Favreau's "Iron Man 2," set to start the movie summer May 7, with Robert Downey Jr. back as our hero and Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke and even Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson somehow coming along too. As you can see from the trailer, Tony Stark is certainly every bit as brash as we remember, so here's hoping he's just as funny too. Rourke as Whiplash, at least, should make a first-rate big bad. Enjoy.



Next up comes two clips for flicks that promise to bring the funny, but about the first oddity, at least, I have my doubts. "Hot Tub Time Machine," judging from the trailer below, will almost certainly be as goofy as it title promises when it drops in March, starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Michael Cera's bff and even Darryl from "The Office," aka Craig Robinson. It's directed by "Grosse Pointe Blank" writer Steve Pink and, as you'll see from the trailer, at least returns Cusack to the ski slopes like "Better off Dead," so I'll at least give it a chance. Enjoy.

And finally, courtesy of MTV comes a look at what should be a better comedy, "Dinner for Schmucks," a remake of the Froggy flick "Le Diner de Cons," which has sat near the top of my Netflix list for a while now but somehow hasn't yet made its way into my mailbox. The title is pretty self-explanatory, and as you'll find out from the clip, Steve Carell is the titular schmuck in this flick being directed by Jay Roach and coming out in July. Enjoy, and have a perfectly endurable Thursday. Peace out.

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