Why I haven't been blogging as much

If you're a regular reader of this blog you might have noticed that I haven't been posting as much news recently. I have been aware of it, obviously, and I figured I would tell you guys why that is.

The basic explanation is I don't have as much time. I have a job and I went back to school for the semester earlier in August. My days consist of waking up at 6am, going to school, coming home around for like an hour or so, and then turning around and going to work. By the time I get home I am just beat and when I do go online and read news stories and movie sites, I just don't feel like spending the extra time to write something up to share. I have been keeping up and I read my sites just about every day like I always did, but posting on here has been difficult. A good 13-14 hours of my day is eaten up away from my computer so it just is what it is.
In addition to this subject is I don't have the time to go see as many movies anymore. As it currently stands I have only seen 11 movies in theaters this year. By this time last year I had seen 20+ and the year before I was practically at the movie theater every weekend to see something. I had a lot more time and more to talk about and review. At this point a majority of news stories I could keep talking about I don't want to keep focusing on and that leads into this next reason.

I have hopped on board with a group of moviegoers who are sick and tired of spoilers. I watch the YouTube show, Pretty Much It, and they were the first ones I noticed that really started practicing this and I have seen how it changed their views on film. It seems that the studios are fine with releasing 3-5 trailers for each movie along with set photos, promo spots, and viral campaigns to get people excited. However, all it does is ruin the allure of the movie. I used to be one of those people to read and watch just about everything about an upcoming release that I was excited about, but when I saw the movie I would either be disappointed that all the good stuff was something I already saw in the trailers or that the good stuff I saw in the trailers wasn't even in the movie.

Recent examples of things I have limited myself on or stayed away from:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy: I absolutely loved this movie, but I don't think I would have loved it as much if I would have read and/or watched as much as I did on previous Marvel releases. I watched the first two trailers and then decided to stop. I didn't watch interviews, I didn't look at promo photos past the first set that was released, etc.. I went in pretty fresh and I wound up enjoying that movie probably more than any previous Marvel release.
2. Jurassic World: I was cool seeing the posters and the JW cars at SDCC and all that, but when I saw that people were leaking the Jurassic World maps and stuff like that I decided to step away. I'll watch a trailer but after that I'm done until the movie is released.
3. Star Wars - Episode VII: I am curious about this new Star Wars film, don't get me wrong, but I don't want to spoil it for myself. I looked at the first set of photos that were leaked by TMZ but I am not going to look at any more until we get any official stuff. I will watch the trailer when it comes out and I will look at a set of promo photos but I'm stopping after that.
4. Gone Girl: The trailer looked great so I am stopping before I have the entire movie ruined for me by promotions and viral marketing. 
5. Interstellar: Again, the trailers look great and I don't think Christopher Nolan will disappoint with this one. Why keep watching for stuff that will ruin the movie?
6. Mockingjay - Part 1: I am excited as all hell but after fully immersing myself in the marketing for Catching Fire, I want to leave myself some surprises for Mockingjay. 

When it comes time for trailers and promos to come for other 2015 releases such as The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Tomorrowland, Insidious: Chapter 3, and Ant-Man I will be very limited. My first real test with this whole way of viewing movies was Guardians of the Galaxy and I had such a good time that I'm irritated with myself about how I was watching movies before. Movies are supposed to be fun. They aren't supposed to be nitpicked and spoiled before you even walk into the theater. I don't think I even need to go into what happened with The Amazing Spider-Man 2. 
The same applies for television shows at this point. I haven't watched or looked at anything for the fifth season of The Walking Dead other than the initial trailer shown at SDCC. I watched everything leading up to season four and I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have. I've been scrolling right past TWD posts on websites and on Facebook because I don't want the spoilers. I'm limiting myself on American Horror Story promos, too. I am watching the teasers but I don't think I'm going to watch the first full trailer or look at any other promotional stuff.


Now what does this mean for this blog? Well, there obviously won't be as many posts. I apologize for that if you're a regular reader and I appreciate you taking the time to read, but it's just gotten ridiculous lately. I will still post on here but I am being even more selective with what I post.

The Walking Dead set through season 12

AMC is apparently not planning on ending The Walking Dead anytime soon. At a recent Producers Guild event, David Alpert stated that they are planning to run the show at least through 12 seasons.

“I happen to love working from source material, specifically because we have a pretty good idea of what season 10 is gonna be. We know where season 11 and 12…we have benchmarks and milestones for those seasons if we’re lucky enough to get there.”

Season 5 of the show is set to debut this October, but with this news I guess we can expect to keep seeing hints and premonitions for many seasons to come. It is no secret that the series has strayed from the comics a lot. However, the so-called "milestones" of the series have pretty much stayed true to the comics so far (ex. The Governor, Terminus, etc.). There is no telling how future milestones and introductions will be handled.
Screenrant has an interesting perspective and basically pointed out that in four seasons we have seen four different settings and tons of new characters. We started out with the camp and Atlanta, season two went to Hershel's farm, season three was Woodbury and the prison, and season four had the fall of the prison and the road to Terminus. The point being is, can this show survive a long-standing run if the setting is not changed up so much? There have also been complaints, especially during season four, that the show was getting very slow and boring.

I love The Walking Dead. I am saying that up front, but I don't believe this show can last too much longer. It's only as matter of time before the current characters get too old and have to die out. I liked season four when it did pick up, but as a whole it was pretty boring. I also think the introduction of characters only to kill them within the episode or an episode later is getting very annoying.
Similar to how I feel about True Blood, I am giving The Walking Dead a max of 7 seasons, maybe 8. If it goes beyond that it will just feel tired and the excitement will wear off. It's clearly starting to wear off already and how trends go these days the zombie trend will be over in a couple years anyway. There will be some new phenomenon to sweep through and grab everyone's attention.

WIll AMC drop a Walking Dead bombshell?

Questions, rumors, and claims are swirling around regarding the "those who survive" and "who will survive" campaigns for The Walking Dead finale. TV Line has even been bold enough to claim AMC is going to kill off their main character, Rick Grimes.

The following promo features Rick with his son Carl and Michonne. It could just be an overlooked promotion for the Terminus plot line, but there is no telling.

Personally, I think it's just a bloated promotion that people are overlooking. The catch of "those who survive" isn't group specific as far as I'm concerned. We have already lost members of the group, especially with Lizzie and Mika last week. Who knows where Beth is at this point, too. This poster probably hit now because we haven't seen Rick, Carl, and Michonne in weeks.

But I must admit... I hope Carl is the one killed off. I can't stand that little shit.

The Walking Dead sets return date

We will get the final half of season four of AMC's The Walking Dead on February 9th. That's the good news.

The better news is we have a new poster:

We just wrapped up the New Years marathon where AMC aired all 3.5 seasons in two days, but in case you missed it they will be running another marathon starting on February 2nd. The mid-season finale left us in a pretty fragile state so I'm excited to see what happens next.

Frank Darabont sues AMC over The Walking Dead

Frank Darabont, the ex-showrunner for AMC's The Walking Dead, has decided to file a lawsuit against AMC over the show's profits. Darabont is accusing AMC of "self dealing" the show's profits by setting low license fees affecting the compensation for those involved. He is also claiming he was wrongfully terminated by AMC and says he should continue to receive a credit as "executive producer" for The Walking Dead, Talking Dead, and the upcoming spin-off by Robert Kirkman. AMC declined comments, but Darabont and his agency, CAA, are asking for a monetary settlement.

There is a slim chance this will go to trial. It is likely that AMC will settle out of court and give Darabont a cash settlement. This isn't uncommon with television shows due to the relaxed syndication laws passed in 1995. Examples of previous cases include:

Home Improvement producers suing Disney
Alan Alda (M*A*S*H*) sued 20th Century Fox
Will & Grace creators sued NBC
Smallville producers sued Warner Bros.

All claims were that the studios did not distribute the money properly. The main difference with this case by Darabont against AMC is he was fired while the season was still running and is including the grievance in the case. In Darabont's original contract, AMC stated that The Walking Dead would be produced by an outside company and he would receive up to 12% compensation from the company. However, AMC decided to self-produce the show and as a result, they decided to self-deal the profits. The contract also included protection against self-dealing profit margins.
The wrongful termination is the clincher, imo. When Darabont was renewed as showrunner, AMC included a lock on him for seasons two and three along with a pay raise. Darabont was suddenly terminated from the show and the suit claims it was to avoid paying him the promised salary per episode and to prevent another pay raise after the third season was over.

AMC should the thanking Darabont. He gave them the best show in the network's history both profit wise and in viewership.

Rosemary's Baby miniseries approved by NBC

A great horror classic is now getting its turn on television. Rosemary's Baby, originally released in 1968, is getting a television miniseries greenlit by NBC. The adaptation will be a four hour series, most likely aired in four parts, and will be based on the 1967 novel by Ira Levin. Agnieszka Holland will direct while Scott Abbott and James Wong are writing the screenplay.  This was announced as a project in development by Lionsgate Television back in July.

Rosemary's Baby tells the story of a young married couple who move into a haunted apartment in Paris. The wife becomes pregnant and subsequently becomes paranoid about the safety of her child because she believes her neighbors have mysterious, evil intentions for her child. The 1968 film adaptation starred Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, and Ruth Gordon. It was directed by Roman Polanski.
I personally love Rosemary's Baby and with the success of shows like Bates Motel and American Horror Story, I don't think this is very surprising. I would expect differences from the film and most likely from the book as well. If you have never seen the film or read the book I would encourage you to do so. It's a great story.

The Walking Dead renewed for season five

AMC has announced they have renewed the network favorite The Walking Dead for a fifth season. This is no surprise as the season four premiere three weeks ago drew in over 20 million viewers making it the most watched show on television.

AMC President Charlie Collier made this statement:

“We are very happy to make what has to be one of the most anti-climactic renewal announcements ever: The Walking Dead is renewed for a fifth season,” said Charlie Collier, AMC president. “This is a show that has erased traditional distinctions between cable and broadcast. Its expanding base of passionate fans has grown every season, most recently – and most notably – with the season four premiere earlier this month, which broke viewership records for the series and became the biggest non-sports telecast in cable history. On behalf of the incredible team on both sides of the camera, thank you to the fans and here’s to more Dead.”

I think this is great news. Season four started off slow, but I think it has started to pick up and has been pretty crazy in episodes 2 and 3. Bring on the dead.

College Humor's Breaking Dead mashup is a winner

What happens when The Walking Dead meets Breaking Bad?
This is probably the best video College Humor has ever done. Holy cow, I wish this was real.

Black Sabbath joins Halloween Horror Nights

In addition for the mazes announced for Evil Dead, The Walking Dead, and The Cabin in the Woods, we now have news of a 3D maze to be based off the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath.

Black Sabbath: 13 3D will be the only maze to incorporate 3D video along with traditional props and characters and will, obviously, feature scenes based off the band's 2013 album release, 13. Guests will be transported into a land of graveyards, battlefields, and madhouses and will encounter Lucifer and his blood soaked bride.

Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne had this to say:

“We were all really excited when Universal Studios Hollywood approached us about doing a 3D Halloween Horror Nights maze based on our music. I’ve seen the drawings of what it will look like when it’s finished and it looks amazing. I can’t wait to walk through it on opening night in September.”

So far it looks like this maze will only be at Universal Studios Hollywood. It joins mazes Evil Dead: Book of the Dead and The Walking Dead: No Safe Haven.

SDCC: The Walking Dead returns October 13; Season 4 trailer debuts

Today we had the panel and Q&A for AMC's The Walking Dead at Comic-Con. We not only learned that season 4 will premiere on October 13th, but we also have the first trailer for the season. It looks like things heat up quite a bit.

A lot of people, including myself, were a bit disappointed about how Season 3 ended but by the looks of this trailer... Season 4 is going to kick some serious ass.

#TheWalkingDead #ComicCon #SDCC

New image for The Walking Dead season 4

Either someone is trying to stay anonymous or it smells awful outside. This new image from the upcoming fourth season of The Walking Dead shows Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) in a curious situation.

Season 4 will premiere on AMC this October and the show will have a panel at San Diego Comic-Con next Friday, July 19th.

Comic-Con schedule for Friday, July 19th

San Diego Comic-Con has released the full schedule for Friday. It looks like a majority of Friday's panels will revolve around television, so my guess is the big movie panels will be taking place on Saturday.


Friday, July 19th:

Inside The Big Bang Theory's Writers' Room - Ballroom 20 (10am - 11am)

The World's End: Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost Reunited - Hall H (10am - 11am)

Defiance - Room 6A (10:30am - 11:30am)

Cartoon Network: Adventure Time - Indigo Ballroom (11am - 12pm)

Nickelodeon's The Legend of Korra Returns! - Ballroom 20 (11:15am - 12:15pm)

Veronica Mars Video Presentation and Q&A - Hall H (11:15am - 12:15pm)

Nikita Video Presentation and Q&A - Room 6BCF (11:30am - 12:30pm)

Kick-Ass 2 and Riddick - Hall H (12:15pm - 1:15pm)

Bones - Ballroom 20 (12:30pm - 1:30pm)

[adult swim]: Children's Hospital - Indigo Ballroom (1pm - 1:45pm)

AMC's The Walking Dead - Hall H (1:35pm - 2:30pm)

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Ballroom 20 (1:45pm - 3pm)

Game of Thrones Panel and Q&A - Hall H (2:50pm - 3:45pm)

The Following Video Presentation and Q&A - Ballroom 20 (3:15pm - 4pm)

[adult swim]: Robot Chicken - Indigo Ballroom (3:15pm - 4pm)

Sleepy Hollow - Room 6A (3:30pm - 4:30pm)

Almost Human Pilot Screening and Q&A - Ballroom 20 (4pm - 5pm)

Bob's Burgers - Indigo Ballroom (4pm - 5pm)

Sony & Screen Gems: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, RoboCop, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Hall H (4:05pm - 6:15pm)

Archer Screening and Q&A - Indigo Ballroom (5pm - 6pm)

Dark Horse: Joss Whedon - Ballroom 20 (6:15pm - 7:15pm)

At the Drive-In feat. Metallica - Hall H (6:30pm - 7pm)

BBC America's Orphan Black - Room 7AB (7pm - 8pm)

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox - Ballroom 20 (7:30pm - 9:30pm)

AMC has no plans to end The Walking Dead

Typical... TV networks get a successful show and have to run it into the ground. Damn son.

AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan said on Wednesday that with the network losing Breaking Bad and Mad Men there are no plans at the current moment to end The Walking Dead. He is quoted saying:

“We hope that zombies live forever, and we’ve just begun to find out what the post-apocalyptic world is like,” said Sapan, “so that we’ll be sitting here at the Barclays conference in 2022 discussing the fact that “Walking Dead” is not over … at that point, I think any one of the companies will have replaced the United States government and we’ll be in a complete free enterprise world in which there are no nations.”

That is all well and good,  but all TV shows come to an end. Even good ones. I am a huge Walking Dead fan but if AMC turns it into a piece of shit I will stop watching. Period. 

The Walking Dead - Season 3 Finale Review

I don't really want to get too into this (and this does contain spoilers), but I honestly wasn't a huge fan of the finale last night. "Welcome to the Tombs" wasn't necessarily a bad episode by itself and I want to emphasize that. However, I don't feel like it was finale material. It was the worst finale yet for me. Even the past mid-season finales were better.

As far as the deaths went, I was happy that no one in the prison group bit the dust in the battle... oh wait. WHAT BATTLE?
The Walking Dead gave us the Breaking Dawn treatment last night. They led us into this huge battle setup and nothing happened. Rick's group set some boobie traps for The Governor and when they ran scared The Governor just kind of disappeared for the rest of the episode. Rick went back to Woodbury and took in some fairly elderly refugees, pissed off Carl in the process, and then called it a day. To say the finale was a disappointment still doesn't do it justice.
As far as character deaths go, the only relevant deaths were Milton and Andrea. The Governor went crazy and killed his entire army but we didn't really know those characters so it didn't have much impact. I also want to take this opportunity to say that I cheered when Andrea died. I have been waiting for this moment ever since the end of Season 1. I was a bit sad about Milton, but I expected him to die anyway. The Governor had a huge target on his back.

It basically just set us up for Rick taking over Woodbury at the prison next season and trying to restart humanity. The Governor and his two henchmen disappeared so I assume they will come back in some capacity next season and mess with the prison group once again, but you never know with this show. I just expected more of a battle that they teased us with.

The Walking Dead announces its 4th season

In more television news, it was also announced today that production on The Walking Dead's fourth season is set to begin this May in Atlanta. Season 4 will premiere in October on AMC and will contain 16 episodes.It will also be the first season to premiere with the new showrunner Scott Gimple in full control. The thing will be if he sticks around long enough to finish a season.

We are currently in the middle of Season 3 which just returned from its mid-season finale earlier this month.

The Walking Dead sets a new series record

The Walking Dead returned to AMC this past Sunday to finish off its third season. Now that the ratings have arrived it seems that the fans obviously had no interest in watching the Grammys.

The show shattered a previous series high in viewers setting a new record with 12.3 million viewers in the first time slot and an additional 4.3 million for the 10pm replay. The previous record was 10.3 million viewers for the season 3 premiere back in October.


Not bad for a show about zombies, eh? Season 3 is set to wrap on March 31st.

Scott Gimple joins The Walking Dead as showrunner

After Glen Mazzara's sudden departure as showrunner halfway through season 3 of The Walking Dead, we now have a new showrunner. AMC announced producer Scott Gimple will step in. Gimple has been a part of the show since season 2 and has written a few episodes.

The Walking Dead will return to AMC on February 10th.

The Walking Dead confirmed for season 4; Showrunner quits

AMC has renewed the growing zombie apocalypse drama The Walking Dead for a fourth season. In addition to this news, AMC released that showrunner Glen Mazzara has parted ways with the show and the network due to "differences in opinion." Mazzara will remain as showrunner for the second half of the third season set to return in January, but after that we will no longer have him.

I don't understand this. They booted Frank Darabont out after a season and a half and now they have done the same with Glen Mazzara. Ratings have been booming, they have broken cable television records, and the show's popularity consistently is growing. There are several sources out there calling for Robert Kirkman, the writer of the original comic material, to step in as showrunner. He has been on board since season one and has been on as a producer. I would agree that he would probably know best at this point.

AMC to air The Walking Dead in black and white

This is pretty random but I love it.

AMC announced they are going to be airing seasons 1 and 2 (18 episodes total) of The Walking Dead in black and white starting this February. They aired the season 1 pilot in black and white earlier and I missed it, but the pictures I have seen from it look pretty cool. They are saying the reasoning is to give fans more of a comic book feel since the books are not in color.

[UPDATED] 2013 SAG Award nominees revealed

The 2013 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards have announced their nominees. Not only is this list almost identical to the Critics Choice nominees that were announced yesterday, but I guarantee it will also be identical to the Golden Globe nominees. I am seeing a trend and I bet you the same names will be on the nomination list for the Oscars. It's pathetic. Although I must admit I am surprised SAG completely stiffed Beasts of the Southern Wild. Everyone else is putting that movie at the top of their lists.
The SAG Awards will air on January 27, 2013.

UPDATE - The winners are highlighted in red.


Best Ensemble:
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook

Best Actor:
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln
John Hawkes - The Sessions
Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables
Denzel Washington - Flight

Best Actress:
Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard - Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Mirren - Hitchcock
Naomi Watts - The Impossible

Best Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin - Argo
Javier Bardem - Skyfall
Robert De Niro -  Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln

Best Supporting Actress:
Sally Field - Lincoln
Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
Helen Hunt - The Sessions
Nicole Kidman - The Paperboy
Maggie Smith - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Best Performance by a Stunt Ensemble:
The Dark Knight Rises
Skyfall
The Bourne Legacy
The Amazing Spider-Man
Les Miserables

Best Ensemble in a Drama Series:
Boardwalk Empire
Homeland
Mad Men
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey

Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series:
30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
Glee
Modern Family
Nurse Jackie
The Office

Best Actor in a Drama Series:
Steve Buscemi - Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels - The Newsroom
Jon Hamm - Mad Men
Damian Lewis - Homeland

Best Actress in a Drama Series:
Michelle Dockery - Downton Abbey
Maggie Smith - Downton Abbey
Jessica Lange - American Horror Story: Asylum
Julianna Marguiles - The Good Wife
Claire Danes - Homeland

Best Actor in a Comedy Series:
Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock
Ty Burrell - Modern Family
Louis C.K. - Louie
Jim Parsons - The Big Bang Theory
Eric Stonestreet - Modern Family

Best Actress in a Comedy Series:
Edie Falco - Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey - 30 Rock
Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation
Sofia Vergara - Modern Family
Betty White - Hot in Cleveland

Best Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries:
Clive Owen - Hemingway & Gellhorn
Ed Harris - Game Change
Woody Harrelson - Game Change
Bill Paxton - Hatfields & McCoys
Kevin Costner - Hatfields & McCoys

Best Actress in a TV Movie or Miniseries:
Alfre Woodard - Steel Magnolias
Julianne Moore - Game Change
Sigourney Weaver - Political Animals
Nicole Kidman - Hemingway & Gellhorn
Charlotte Rampling - Restless

Best Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a TV Series:
Game of Thrones
Homeland
Breaking Bad
Sons of Anarchy
The Walking Dead
Boardwalk Empire