Angelina Jolie as Catwoman?

Even though most of us are still basking in the afterglow (more like after-gloom) of The Dark Knight, it’s never too early to start thinking about the next Batman film. Well, apparently we’re not the only ones looking ahead. According to fanboy site Comic Book Movie, actress/world savior/supermom Angelina Jolie is also hoping to become part of Christopher Nolan’s Bat-universe, by donning the super-tight tights and fierce claws of Catwoman for the third film in the franchise.

(Just picturing Jolie wearing the cat suit begins to erase the horrible memory of that Halle Berry flick.)

Best of all is the source from which this news has stemmed: former Catwoman Julie Newmar is quoted as telling the New York Daily News:

“Angelina would own the part,” said Newmar. “My industry friends tell me [she] has made inquiries about the role,”

Well, it seems as though Newmar is a lot more comfortable passing the torch than Jack Nicholson was. And let’s face it, Angelina playing Catwoman would be as sultry, badass, and downright sweat-inducing as any actress could possibly be in the role. Unfortunately, The Daily News article goes on to remind us that in a recent interview, Dark Knight writers David Goyer and John Nolan stated that, as of now, they are reluctant to include Catwoman in the third film. Maybe Angelina can change all that. The woman has been known to sway men in the past.

I for one think that Catwoman is a logical step for the next film. The Dark Knight left off with Batman being falsely accused of murder, sandwiched between cops and criminals, more alone than ever, with his only love interest having been blown to smithereens. A fella’s got to have some kind of relief, and a woman in a skin-hugging cat suit, who also likes a bit of midnight roof hopping, is never a bad place to start.

Is Google's Proprietary Tech Stack Destroying Its Acquisitions?

While Google has bought plenty of small startups, almost none of those deals have amounted to very much. It almost seems like most of the startups disappear into Google forever. There are a few exceptions such as YouTube and (maybe) Writely. But the list of startups that have simply languished or died is much longer. TechCrunchIT is running an interesting post that suggests one of the key reasons: Google's proprietary tech stack. While Google is a big open source supporter for lower level infrastructure, once you get above that -- it's very much a strong believer in doing everything its own way. I've heard from friends at Google about the difficulty they've had learning to deal with Google's tech stack -- and certainly have heard how it's slowed down the progress of some Google acquisitions while they learn how to "transition."
In fact, some have pointed out that this is one of the side benefits to Google's AppEngine offering. Since it exposes some of Google's tech stack to folks for them to develop and run their applications, it will make it much easier to integrate them into Google at a later date. So, for startups whose strategy is to get acquired by Google (and, I should note, if you start with that strategy, you're probably going to fail), it may make sense to develop on AppEngine just because you're already signaling to Google that the integration costs are significantly lower.
Still, this highlights one of the major downsides to Google's belief that it can do everything much better than everyone else by starting from scratch: in doing so, it actually makes it much harder to capitalize on synergies from many acquisition targets. Yes, there are reasons to go against the "standard" way of doing things, but there are significant costs as well.

The MPAA Thinks You're Stupid

Apparently the MPAA is quite worried that people watching a movie trailer might not understand that a gun pointed at the screen can't actually shoot through the screen. The organization is forcing preview trailers that show someone pointing a gun directly at the screen to actually change the video or cut that scene out of the ad. As the report at the AV Club asks, is the MPAA worried that someone from a century ago who's never seen TV or a movie is going to suddenly show up and freak out? Anyone who's seen the movie This Film Is Not Yet Rated knows that the MPAA works in mysterious ways, but this just seems ridiculous.

Whedon To Reshoot Dollhouse

Joss Whedon, who is readying his new SF series Dollhouse for Fox, told fans on his official blog that he is shooting a new first episode to clarify the series' setup.
The original pilot episode, which some viewers found confusing, will now become the show's second episode.
"The fact is, I'm very proud of the ep we shot, and the series is making me crazy with the excitement," Whedon wrote. "But I tend to come at things sideways, and there were a few clarity issues for some viewers. There were also some slight issues with tone--I was in a dark, noir kind of place (where, as many of you know, I make my home) and didn't bring the visceral pop the network had expected from the script. The network was cool about it, but not sure how to come out of the gate with the ep."
Whedon was quick to point out that shooting a new first episode was his idea, not the network's. That was perhaps an effort to deflect comparisons with Whedon's previous series on Fox, Firefly, for which the network ordered Whedon to shoot a new first episode and use the pilot later in the show's initial season. Airing the episodes out of sequence was credited in part for that series' poor ratings.
Whedon said that he won't show clips from Dollhouse as originally planned at Comic-Con International, which starts on July 24, as a result of the reshoots.
As for the original pilot, it will air as a second episode relatively intact, Whedon said.
Dollhouse, starring Eliza Dushku, is slated to air starting in January 2009.

Moffat Looks Ahead

Steven Moffat, who is set to take over the job of executive producer of the BBC's Doctor Who from current show runner Russell T. Davies, told SCI FI Wire that he is currently planning the fifth season of the new incarnation, due to air in 2010 following a series of five specials next year.
"It's all happening in this head," Moffat said in an interview at Comic-Con International in San Diego on July 23. "I know where I want it to start. I don't mean to make it sound very grand. It's very simple, just where I want it to be when it takes off. So [Russell's] arranged for that."
Moffat, who has written some of the most popular episodes of the new series so far, said that his new role as executive producer will require him to approach writing from an entirely different perspective.
"There are a bunch of things I've always wanted to see in Doctor Who, yes, but now it's slightly different--it's very different in my new position," Moffat said. "Obviously, I only turned up once a year, and practically my brief was to write, in effect, the Moffat episode--the one that's very different, the one that's a bit timey-wimey or a bit scary. And that's all they were expecting. And they would just tell me, 'Go, and do your thing.' So I would do my Moffat-y thing--whatever the f--k that is--in a very, very pronounced way. But you couldn't have a whole series like that. If you started a series with 'Silence of the Library' or 'Blink,' people would turn off. You can't have that as the first episode. It's just too grim. So it's different contemplating it from this position, very, very different."
The series will also continue to embrace a wide range of tones and genres, Moffat said. Rather than adapting the show to his particular writing style, he looks forward to experimenting with different voices to maintain the show's variety.
"That's not what the show's about," Moffat said. "Kids aren't rushing to their television sets to see how much of the Moffat voice will get through. All you can do is make exciting television episodes and experiment with different voices. I've quite deliberately and purposefully--it's not been an accident--had a very consistent voice in Doctor Who, because that enables Russell to manage me. He knows what he's going to get. He knew it was going to be dark before [he] got it, because that's what he said it was. 'You'll be doing a dark one.' Whereas Russell in Doctor Who will write everything from 'Partners in Crime' to 'Midnight,' and those two have nothing in common as far as voice is concerned. It's two totally different takes on the same show. And that's quite exciting for me, too, because I get to write episodes that I wouldn't normally write, that wouldn't be expected of me."
Moffat hopes that the long wait between seasons, punctuated by the specials, will make the audience more excited for its return. "Part of the reason behind the gap year was thinking, 'Starve them for a year. Make them want it back. Return it to event status.'"

Alice role for Australian actress

Australian actress Mia Wasikowska is in final talks to star in director Tim Burton's Disney version of Alice in Wonderland, according to a report. The 18-year-old is set to land the role after a long search for the title character, the Hollywood Reporter says. The actress started out in Australian TV drama All Saints and stars in US series In Treatment. She also appears alongside Daniel Craig in war drama Defiance, due out later in the year. Burton's take on Lewis Carroll's classic fantasy novel will use a mixture of live action and animation and will be made in 3D. Filming is due to begin in November, the Hollywood Reporter said. Wasikowska has just finished filming her role as a young fan of aviator Amelia Earhart in Mira Nair's biopic Amelia, starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere.

Doctor Who signing ban at Hamlet

 

David Tennant plays the Danish prince in Shakespeare's' Hamlet

Doctor Who and Star Trek fans have been banned from having sci-fi merchandise signed by David Tennant and Patrick Stewart while they star in Hamlet.

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) says only programmes and other Hamlet merchandise can be autographed at the stage door.

Tennant and Stewart are starring in the RSC production at the Courtyard Theatre, in Stratford.

The first preview begins later, and the play opens on 5 August.

Hamlet director, Gregory Doran, recently said fans arrive at the stage door with "bags" of Doctor Who merchandise for Tennant to autograph.

Disappointment

In a statement, the RSC said the level of interest in Tennant and Stewart meant "limits" had to be imposed.

Patrick Stewart has two roles in the production

"Due to the huge amount of interest in the RSC's current production of Hamlet, only Royal Shakespeare Company or production related memorabilia will be signed by members of the company," the RSC said.

"It is very flattering that there is so much interest in this production, but the sheer volume of requests means that we need to set some limits which will be as fair as possible for everyone.

"We apologise if this causes any disappointment."

Signs outlining the no autographs policy have reportedly been erected in the window at the stage door.

Tennant's performance in Hamlet has been hotly anticipated, with tickets exchanging hands on the internet auction site eBay for up to £215 each.

David Tennant talked to Andrew Marr in June about his new role as Hamlet

The 37-year-old Scottish actor, who takes on the lead role of Hamlet, made his debut as the Time Lord in Doctor Who in 2005.

His previous RSC credits include Antipholus of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors.

Stewart is best known for playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek, but has a string of critically acclaimed stage performances to his name.

He plays two roles in the RSC production of Hamlet - Claudius and the Ghost.