Jump to content

Around the Web on January 14th


RPG Post

Recommended Posts

Around the Web on January 14th

Bond is back. Much troubled studio MGM has reached a deal with SpyGlass to bring us Bond 23. Craig is to star and Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Jar Head) is to direct. This is only Bond 23 in the loosest sense, if you ignore: The first Casino Royale with Barry Nelson, the second Casino Royale with Woody Allen (best ignored unless one has a high tolerance for 60's insanity) and Never Say Never Again. They're running out of books and stories to take titles from also, leaving, I think, The Hildenbrand Rarity, Risico and The Property of a Lady.

Like Bond, The Hobbit film is steaming along. The cast now includes Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis joining Cate Blanchett and Orlando Bloom as well as Martin Freeman as Bilbo. Sir Ian is in negotiations to return and Christopher Lee will be back (as Count Dooku.) Just an observation, but as European and American actors go, Christopher Lee seems to have been in more films than anyone I remember. More than 250. Bollywood actors tend to make more films per year and Ron Jeremy tends to make more films than anyone (more than 2,000) but Lee has an astonishing number of great films and money makers in his portfolio.

[end_news_blurb]

Peter Yates has died. Yates was nominated for several Academy Awards as best director but did not win. He gave us one of the most iconic car chases in cinematic history with Steve McQueen, a 1968 Mustang GT Fastback and the streets of San Francisco.

This car chase and the one in The French Connection set the standard for all chases to come.

If you do not remember or have never heard of TSR's DragonStrike board game, there was a deliriously bad instructional video that came with the game. It is long, 30+ minutes, but grab some popcorn and watch with family and friends.

">
" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350">

White Wolf has released new material for Vampire. Scenes of the Embrace includes 14 scenarios to weave into your campaign.

Ars Technica posted on article on Dead Space 2 and why they are looking forward to it. The first one was creepy, but the new one is weaving in a religious theme that may add to the horror.

">
" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350">

As mentioned previously on this site DC Online came out this week. I haven't had a chance to play it yet. The combat is supposed to be modeled after the Arkham Asylum game. My son is begging for it for his birthday so I may have a hands on next month.

The announcement has been around for a while, but scientist have invented Star Trek 4. Or at least transparent aluminum. Humans are still working on exterminating the whales.

Capcom plagiarized their latest game, Maxsplosion, from Splosion Man. Then denied any knowledge of it. Though they did admit they were saddened by the similarities. The fact Twisted Pixel tried to sell Splosion Man to them is played off as a non-event by Capcom as was, apparently, the popularity of the game on XBOX Live.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wait. The Hobbit movie has Galadriel, Legolas and Saruman the Wise?

...

Does it still have Smaug? I mean...okay, Jackson did a great editing job on Lord of the Rings; cutting away the braindrool that so many pages were full of and paring it down to the core, very exciting, story.

But it kind of sounds like he's doing the opposite here. Adding scenes and characters to a story that is, at its heart, very simple and straightforward.

I suppose Legolas was a Wood Elf, so Bilbo might encounter him in the Elf King's abode in Mirkwood, after the spiders... But he never went to Lothlorien. Are they saying Galadriel was at Rivendell or something?

Oh well. I guess there were added scenes in Lords too that were good. Wizardfight, for one. Benefit of doubt earned, yes. Forward looking to this am I, even though concerned.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Galadriel and Saurumon were at the White Council which Gandalf went off to deal with in the middle of the story while the dwarves and bilbo were traipsing through Mirkwood. It's never actually detailed in the Hobbit other than that Gandalf had to go take care of his own wizard business. So I can kinda see them making cameos in the film, but Frodo? He shouldn't even be born yet I don't think.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Frodo is reading the story of the Hobbit from the Red Book of Westmarch, i.e. the book that Bilbo, he, and Sam wrote, that's how he'll be in the film.

As Fox said, Sauruman, et al will be at the wizard meeting when they deal with the Necromancer (which IIRC was the real reason for Gandalf's presence on the trip)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good call about the White Council...and scouting Mirkwood was one of the items on Gandalf's agenda for the whole shindig, yeah, but far from the only one...

I wonder if they'll add more 'Necromancer related' stuff than that then. Seeing as how that, plus the Ring, is what ties The Hobbit into Lord of the Ring...perhaps a scene following the Necromancer's defeat, where we see the dark spirit flee Mirkwood and it's all yay! Yay! Until we see a shot of that spirit returning to Mordor, and atop Barad Dur the Eye opens...then cut to credits.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...