I’m leaving today.
For any of you currently unaware, today, Adam J and myself are off to the big apple. New York City.
You can follow us on Twitter @Y2Neildotcom and @amjohnno but please be warned if you txt or call you may get charged a little.
So, here we go…

The most anticipated start to a serial drama launched on Tuesday February 2nd when Lost returned to our screens.

We started off with some “previously on Lost” footage and the people at the Swan construction site, Juliet being pulled down into the shaft and finding herself next to the core of the Jughead nuclear bomb. She smashes away at it with a nearby rock eight times until BOOM. Fade to white.
What happened next contains

major spoilers

that I don’t think you’re ready for (if you’re one of the UK readers waiting until tomorrow).

All is white and we pan backwards, Jack is on a plane looking out the window at cloud. Cindy asks him how his drink is, she says that wasn’t a very strong reaction to which Jack replies “it’s not a very strong drink”. She hands him some vodka. He pours it into his glass when the plane hits some turbulence.

Sound familiar? Well it’s not. The turbulence ends, the plane is still in the air. Rose tells Jack he can let go of the arm rests, it’s over. Bernard returns from the bathroom and Jack gets up to use the restroom. He meets the Marshal who says there is someone inside. Kate falls out of the room and into Jack who then goes into the bathroom. When looking in the mirror he notices he is bleeding from a cut on his neck. He returns to his seat where he meets Desmond. They look at each other and Jack thinks he recognises him.

A doctor is required, Jack gets up to help. There is a man in the bathroom who hasn’t responded. Sayid kicks the door down and inside is Charlie, unconscious and not breathing. Jack needs something sharp but due to safety regulations there is nothing sharp on board. Jack tries to find his pen but it has gone missing. He eventually manages to pull out a bag of heroin that was blocking Charlie’s windpipe. Charlie is alive but not happy. He tells Jack he was supposed to die.

Elsewhere on the plane Hurley is being pestered by Doctor Artz to do his Austraillian accent. He asks how he became the owners of Mr. Clucks chicken chain, Hurley says he won the lottery, he liked chicken so bought it. Sawyer overhears and tells Hugo he should be careful who he tells that he’s a lottery winner, a lot of people would use that against him. Hurley says he is the luckiest man alive, nothing will go wrong.

Locke is reading the safety instructions and Boone tells him that if the plane hits the water, they’re going to die. Locke says that with the right pilot they could survive a water landing. They get chatting, Locke tells Boone he’s been on a walkabout, hunting and living in the wild. Boone tells him he was in Australia to save his sister from an abusive relationship, only she didn’t want saving. Boone says that if the plane does crash, he’s sticking with Locke.

Sun is watching Rose and Bernard who are very much in love, Jin tells her to button up her shirt as he admires the watch he is donating as a business gift.

Jack returns to his seat but Desmond has vanished. Jack asks Rose if she saw him or where he went, she says both her and Bernard were asleep. Jack sits and we pan back out the window and down into the ocean, deep below the water level we find a drowned island, we see the barracks, some jungle and the remains of the four toed statue.

The plane lands in LA, Jin and Sun are questioned by customs, the language barrier providing tricky. Jin has thousands of dollars in his bag and is taken away, Sun is asked if she speaks English, she says no. Kate needs to use the bathroom, when in there she uses the pen she lifted from Jack to try to pry open the handcuffs. The Marshal notices a part of the pen on the floor and tries to force his way into the stall. Kate attacks him, hits his head and leaves him unconscious in the bathroom, taking his jacket. Some women enter and she says he attacked her as she runs.

In the elevator Sawyer spots the handcuffs, some airport security get a call over their radios but when the doors open, Sawyer lets ladies through first giving Kate a chance to escape.

She makes her way to the taxi rank where she is stopped by Frogurt who tells her there’s a line for the cabs. She spots the Marshal so jumps into a taxi and holds the driver at gunpoint to drive. In the cab is Claire.

Jack is paged to the courtesy desk where he is told his father’s coffin wasn’t on the plane and they don’t know where it is. Locke has also lost his box of knives, he tells Jack that Oceanic didn’t lose his father, just his body. This cheers Jack up a little and asks what happened to Locke, he says it is irreversible. Jack says nothing is irreversible and offers him a free consultation.

Kate opens her eyes. She is on the island and in a tree. She appears to have lost her hearing but once she’s down on the ground she calls out and it returns. Miles appears and they find the exploded remains of the hatch after Desmond turned the failsafe key. We appear to be back in 2007. Jack wakes up but is kicked into the hatch hole by Sawyer who screams at him that he killed Juliet. They then hear some cries, Juliet is alive under the rubble.

They start removing the iron mess as Sayid bleeds to death with Hurley. There is a noise and Hurley goes to investigate to be met by Jacob. He tells Hurley to save Sayid he has to be taken to the temple, with the guitar case that Jacob gave him in LA. Hurley wants to know how he got to the island, how he’s talking to Hurley, Jacob says it’s because he died a few hours ago.

Using the van the team clear a steel girder and Sawyer drops into the hole left and finds Juliet. She is dying. They kiss and Juliet says it didn’t work, that she hit the bomb but it didn’t work. She wanted Sawyer to go home and be happy. He tells her that they’ll have to find a way off the island together. She tells him that she needs to tell him something really important, but dies before she can.

Hurley, Sayid, Jin, Jack and Kate head to the temple whilst Sawyer and Miles stay to bury Juliet. Once done, Sawyer asks Miles to find out what she wanted to tell him, Miles is apprehensive , says it doesn’t happen like that, but does it anyway. He says Juliet wanted to tell Sawyer it worked. Sawyer walks away.

At the temple walls the group enter and find the body with the ripped arm of one of the French team. They head deep into the temple and Kate goes missing, followed by Jack. They are attacked by The Others and taken to the temple. There they are asked who they are and what they’re doing here, the Others seem to be led by Dogen, a Japanese man. He orders them to be shot until Hurley blurts out Jacob sent them and the guitar. Dogen opens the case to reveal an Ankh, he spilts it open and reads the note.

He leads them into the temple, the waters are murky and he says that saving Sayid may have consequences. They put him in the water, he starts to kick and thrash around but is held under the water as a sand-clock ticks down. Sayid becomes motionless and soon is lifted out of the water. Jack tries to revive him but he is dead.
Dogen then asks to speak to Hurley, he learns that Jacob has died so they instantly panic and fortify the temple, not to keep them in, but to keep him out.

Him would be the imposter John Locke. After Ben killed Jacob, John asks him to fetch Richard, but when Ben steps back onto the beach Illana’s crew force themselves into the temple. Richard shows Ben the real John Locke’s dead body and he can’t believe it. Inside the team see Locke who tells them Jacob is dead and thus they don’t need to protect him anymore. They open fire, Ben cowers behind some pots but Locke vanishes only to return as the smoke monster. The monster kills the crew, Bram tries to protect himself by circling ash around him but the monster hits the wall behind him which collapses onto him.
Locke returns and apologises that Ben had to see him that way. He says that whilst John Locke wanted to stay on the island more than anyone else from flight 815, the monster wants the ironic opposite, to go home.

Locke leaves and walks right up to Richard, he says it’s good to see him out of the chains and attacks him, leaving him unconscious. Locke picks him up and tells the others around him that he is very disappointed in them before walking off into the jungle.

Back at the temple and Dogen now wants to speak to Jack but as he does, Sayid wakes up.

Wow. What an episode, leaving us with plenty more questions. Firstly then, how can they be in two places at once? 815 lands but this would appear to be in a parallel timeline, for instance Jack seems to have a recollection of Desmond and of the plane crash when the turbulence hits but passes it off. Why was Desmond on the plane? Where was Walt, Michael, Shannon, Nikki, Paulo etc? Shannon was left behind in Australia so this ISN’T the correct timeline, not the one we started with.

Sayid comes back to life – I think we can all assume this is the rebirth of Jacob, right? But why was it imperative that Sayid not die yet it was fine for Juliet? Why did they kill Juliet?! Why did Kate wake up in a tree? Where did Christian go? Why was the island sunk under water? (Atlantis) And why was the CGI so bad?

What did happen after the bomb went off if indeed it did and “it worked”, I think there was just another time flash personally, I mean there is no way they would have been blasted and survived. The way the island was when they arrived would have covered for how they left the Swan in 1977, with a war head that was later cemented in concrete.

I’m a little worried that there is too much information going on at the moment that they need to cram into the last season, but we shall see how it plays out.

MAJOR SPOILERS!!

Did you watch? Are you slightly more upset it wasn’t a time flash? That means then that Desmond never forgot to enter the numbers…if Desmond even found the island at all.

Does it also mean that Ben/Charles are still at war? Alex would be alive right? As would CHARLIE! YAY! But Charlie and Claire won’t be together, boo.

From that clip it seemed Jack knew what had happened, but Rose and Cindy had no clue. How is it only he seemed aware. Was it because he was in the 70s at the time? No, because so were Rose and Bernard. Strange. I think it’ll still crash. Or something will happened to put them right back where they were, probably something Locke will do.

Also, does that just negate the ending of Locke/that other chap who took on Locke’s form, from killing Jacob? Curious. So many questions.

Looks like I need to start saving the pennies.

The sixth season of the TV phenomenon Lost doesn’t even premiere until next Tuesday, and it already has a Blu-ray release date. TV Shows on DVD (citing information posted on Ingram Entertainment’s VideoETA website) is reporting that, on August 24, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will release both Lost: The Complete Sixth and Final Season and the mammoth Lost: The Complete Collection, with exclusive bonus content.

Special features for Lost: The Complete Sixth and Final Season include:

* Original scripted content that goes deeper into some of the stories, exclusive to Blu-ray and DVD produced by Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse
* Bloopers and deleted Scenes
* Lost on Location – Go behind-the-scenes and get the stories from the set, on location in Hawaii from the actors and crew who make it happen.
* Crafting a Final Season – Investigation into the goals and expectations of the season through interviews with writers, producers, cast, and crew
* Audio commentaries
* Lost University (BD-exclusive, powered by BD-Live)

Lost: The Complete Collection will include an additional bonus disc with at least two hours of extra exclusive content.

Source: Blu-Ray.com

Flight Of The Conchords co-creator/writer/director James Bobin is rumoured to be the man to handle the new Muppet movie – assuming he wants the job.

According to New York Magazine’s Vulture blog, Bobin, who has also worked on Da Ali G Show both here and in the US, has been offered the gig of bringing Jason Segel and Nick Stoller’s script to life. Stoller had been lined up to direct, but has had to sidestep the job because of his post-production schedule on Get Him To The Greek.

Little is known about the currently untitled new Muppet pic, save that it likely involves Kermit and the rest putting on a show to save their theatre.

But Bobin is a man in demand, ironically, from Segel’s mentor and career-booster Judd Apatow. Vulture reports that Bobin is about to nab an offer to direct Bridesmaids, written by Saturday Night Live stalwart Kristen Wiig, and featuring two women battling to plan their mate’s wedding party.

Frankly, we think he’d be a great fit for Gonzo and co. – and not just because Rhys Darby could nab a cameo. But mostly because of that.

However, until the official announcement arrives, treat either offer strictly as a rumour…

Source: Empire

BRING ON FEB 2nd!

Last week it was reported that (500) Days of Summer helmer Marc Webb was at the top of the list of candidates to helm a Spider-Man reboot. Vulture now has breaking word that Webb is signed on to direct, not only the Spider-Man reboot, but a new Spider-Man trilogy. That’s right, three movies!

The reboot allows Sony to clean house of all the high price-tag cast and crew from the original trilogy. Webb will be paid roughly $10 million for the first film, with reported substantial bonuses built in “if the picture reaches certain box-office milestones.” Sam Raimi was paid $10 million for the original Spider-Man film, but that was nearly ten years ago. The Evil Dead director’s agreement included a percentage of the film’s grosses (nearly 25 percent when combined with star Tobey Maguire on the last sequel).

But most of all, Webb offers a chance to connect with the new/next generation. Lets just hope that Taylor Lautner doesn’t play Peter Parker. If Webb has a choice in casting, I’m sure we’ll be fine (I especially liked all of his choices in 500 Days of Summer.) Sony has been chasing after Webb for a while now. Webb has said that he is a big fan of the Ultimate Spider-Man comics.

The music video turned feature director was almost hired by Sony for the big screen adaptation of Michael Lewis’s Moneyball after Steven Soderbergh departed the project and Capote helmer Bennett Miller was hired.

The full press release after the jump.

Source: /film

(more…)

Avatar is one of the biggest grossing films of all time. It has recieved amazing reviews nearly right across the board – unless you’re a reader of Y2Neil.com. It’s visuals are stunning. It truly is a killer at the box office…literally:

A 42-year-old Taiwanese man died of a stroke, which his doctor claims was likely triggered by “over-excitement” from watching James Cameron’s Avatar in 3D. According to News.com.au, the man began to feel sick during a screening earlier this month and was taken to hospital.

Mr Kuo, who had a documented history of high blood pressure, arrived unconscious and a cat scan revealed that his brain was haemorrhaging. The man died 11 days later from the brain haemorrhage, which his doctor claims was triggered “from watching the movie.”

Source: /film

So I’ve just read news that The Crystal Maze (the amazing game show devised and hosted by the brilliant Richard O’Brien) may be making a 2010 return on ITV.

This furthers my anger at the world for being unable to come up with anything original and upsets me greatly when I read that Amanda Holden may present.

What the fuck?

Amanda Holden? She has no personality. No one can replace Richard O’Brien, no one would have that certain, “niave charm”, rapier wit or general energy about them in order to host the show.

It’s also rumoured that the show will be celebrity driven rather than contestants. More rubbish.

I’m a huge fan of Richard O’Brien and the Crystal Maze and think this is a travesty. (Unless of course RoB gets a thick chunk of the profits of course).

WHOA. As I mentioned earlier, Nikki Finke just recruited Variety’s chief newshound Mike Fleming, and now the new duo are coming out of the gate with a massive story. Their first big report is that Sony is scrapping Spider-Man 4 after script and schedule concerns caused Sam Raimi to walk away from the film. The scuttled sequel has already been confirmed by a Sony Pictures press release, and the studio will now go for a full franchise reboot. New director, new cast.

Finke and Fleming’s report says the decision was made just today, and that the studio will start over with a “franchise reboot” script by James Vanderbilt. They quote sources reporting that Raimi said he couldn’t make the picture’s 2011 release date and maintain quality standards.

The Sony press release offers more info. Shorn of back-patting quotes, the core info is as follows:

Peter Parker is going back to high school when the next Spider-Man hits theaters in the summer of 2012. Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios announced today they are moving forward with a film based on a script by James Vanderbilt that focuses on a teenager grappling with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises.

That means no Malkovich, no Vulture, no Vulturess, and no more Kirsten Dunst. Let’s see what Sony comes up with now; bets on a thinly-translated Ultimate Spider-Man adaptation? Reboot writer James Vanderbilt wrote an early draft of Spider-Man 4, and had been hired to write the presumptive fifth and sixth films.

When that deal for SM5 and 6 came down last August, the possibility of those scripts being the basis for a reboot was mentioned, so this isn’t an utter left-field surprise. Though a studio scrapping a film as potentially massive as Spidey 4 in favor of a reboot is still a huge deal; this is nothing like rebooting the Hulk, or Ghost Rider or Fantastic Four.

What next for Raimi? Will he go directly on to World of Warcraft, the Dennis Lehane adaptation The Given Day, or something else? (Another smaller film?) All things considered, you’ve got to guess that he and Tobey Maguire are both more happy than anything else to get away from increasingly difficult franchise.

Easily the biggest news to hit in recent weeks was the word that Sony has scrapped production on Spider-Man 4 and will reboot the character with a new film (and, presumably, an ensuing series) featuring a new cast and creative team. A general 2012 date has been mentioned, but no specific date has yet been set; expect the studio to stake a claim in May, and for any other films in that region to shift accordingly. Will Sony battle Marvel, which has The Avengers penned in for early May? You bet.

With such big news hitting early in the week, outlets are already crawling around looking for tidbits of info, and there are a few useful things to know about Spider-Man v2.0 that we didn’t cover in our first report.

First up, while I thought the facts were implicit in Sony’s press release, let’s be explicit: the new script by James Vanderbilt has already been written.

Variety notes that Sony “has long had” Vanderbilt’s script ready as a contingency plan. In other words, when he was hired to write Spider-Man 5 and 6, which were mentioned as possible reboot fodder, what he was really doing was writing this fresh start on the character. Given that Sony doesn’t want to do anything that will potentially see Spider-Man go back to Marvel, the studio was smart. (See a note about being ’smart’ at the end of this piece.)

According to EW, the idea was to have the reboot ready to go as soon as Spidey 4 was done. But when discussions about that film went nowhere, Vanderbilt’s new take was given priority. Now they’re ready to go with a script.

We don’t know much about what that script entails, other than it will feature a younger teenage Peter Parker. EW calls the script “gritty, contemporary” and references Batman Begins, seemingly not only in the sense that Christopher Nolan reinvented Batman on film, but in the sense of tone. Which would be a shame. Let’s have anything but a gritty Spider-Man, please. Anyone with a shred of understanding of the character knows that, while the stories can be heavy, ‘gritty’ isn’t what makes Spider-Man universally appealing.

There’s speculation already (as by Devin at CHUD) that this is a grab for some of the Twilight tween energy and fanbase. But I just see this as a cheaper, easier move. Sam Raimi directed three films, so is it easier to bring a new director into his world, or create a new world altogether? The latter, as Anne Thompson suggests, and I think she’s right. This will definitely be cheaper, as Sony has just shed a couple of names with big dollar signs attached. Spider-Man 3 cost almost $300m, and the fourth film could easily have gone that high. Now can the studio make this reboot for $200m or less? One would hope so.

Who directs this leaner, cheaper beast? More important, who has the right touch to follow Raimi, who is a director with both a real soul and a deep, practical background in making comic book-style movies? EW mentions a couple of names, saying that Marc Webb, director of (500) Days of Summer, has cropped up, but doesn’t say in what context. The mag also mentions Gary Ross, hired to write one of the last Spider-Man 4 drafts, and Michael Bay, who has expressed interest in the character. Those latter two seem unreasonable; I’d consider any of the three a surprise hire. (And, to echo Anne Thompson again, let’s hope it’s not McG.)

(Edited to add: One point I forgot is that Sam Raimi has indicated that he knows Spider-Man 3 wasn’t up to snuff. The primary reason I’ve seen to be interested in the scuttled fourth movie is that Raimi had a real creative incentive to make it a killer. Everyone wants to go out on a high note. If he’d been allowed to let that impluse free, we could have come out of this with two great films — 2 and 4. That Sony wasn’t interested implies — implies, mind you — volumes to me. No way of knowing; maybe Raimi’s ideas really weren’t good. But if they were, and Sony would rather go this route? Ouch.)

So: about being smart. From a couple of business perspectives, this is arguably a smart move. The film will be cheaper, and Sony can exert more control. Key talent will know that major names like Raimi and Tobey Maguire were let go, fostering the understanding that Sony’s take on the character is more valuable than anything else. That’s the bottom line. For Sony, that gets the movie made the way the studio wants.

But what made the first two films so much fun? What created the franchise momentum that allowed the relatively lousy third film to earn hundreds of millions? Not Sony’s keen business sense (OK, marketing the hell out of the series didn’t hurt) but Sam Raimi’s interest in and passion for the character. He knew what he wanted, and had good ideas about how to get it. He almost always kept the tone right. Raimi created scenes that will stand as indelible examples of the character. The subway sequence in Spider-Man 2 is a stone-cold classic. Spider-Man can thrive without Raimi and/or Maguire, but not if the approach is a calculating one. The character has always been about heart and impetuous, impulsive energy. Those are the things that Sony is poised to kill by making this into pure business.

Source: /film