Just. Fucking. Brilliant. In all honesty, this covers the exact same themes of the nature life in the face of technology as the original Mamoru Oshii-directed movie, and is about 9000% more coherent. And that's with all the sirens and screaming. Much thanks to my sister-in-arms Liz over at LA Weekly for the tip.

​Mainly, these mo' problems will be for my free time and my wallet, because I have got to get my hands on these things. A Lego Dracula? A Lego Spartan? (Be still my Latin majoring heart!) A Lego Mexican with a Lego sombrero? FUCK AND SI. these guys aren't due until fall of 2010, which is good, because I haven't even found wave one of these little badasses yet -- have you guys? (Via 16bit and Eurobricks)

​A lot of you have sent me the news that Warner Bros. has made Chris Nolan, director of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, in sort of advisory role on the next Superman movie. I appreciate it, but I don't think we need to get too worked up about this. Here's why:

• We have no idea how much power Nolan actually has. I'd be shocked if he got to veto plans outright, especially if WB hires a big-name or even medium-name director. It's more likely he'll just be a voice in the room when the executives -- who have been fucking this up for years now -- meet.
• More importantly, how often will he actually be in that room? He's finishing Inception now, and then WB wants him to start on Batman 3 ASAP. I'd put down any amount of cash that between advising on Superman or making Batman 3, WB would rather he work on Batman.
• This Superman movie still doesn't exist. There are no scripts, no directors, no ideas. All Nolan can even say at the moment is "Let's not do something tremendously stupid," which, while good advice, is kind of vague.

This obviously isn't bad news, but let's not think this means the second coming of the Superman movie franchise. Seriously, Nolan is out of that meeting room even one day, and that could be the day they hire Tyler Perry to play the son of Richard Pryor's character from Superman III.

​Natsuna Watanabe can Gantz. Mostly because she's playing Kei Kishimoto in the live-action movie of the preposterously violent, often quite naughty manga -- well, that, and she's pictured above. I'm not going to lie; that's a hell of a picture. I can't imagine that Ms. Watanabe managed to slide into that outfit by herself; it probably takes a team of assistants, including one to cover her in baby powder first, so she doesn't chaff. Best job in Japan? I'd say odds are good. (Via AnimeVice)

​• Stargate: SGU-1
Wait a second. Does this mean the show's real name is "Stargate: Stargate Universe-1"? Fantabulous.

• Dante's Inferno
The anime of the videogame based on the classic work of literature in that a character is called Dante and it takes place in hell. I'll pass, thanks.

• The Guild Season 3
Felicia Day and pals continue to have wacky hijinks in and out of the World of Warcraft. I think. Probably. I haven't watched it.

• Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai
Apparently this is a classic Japanese movie about several generations of a samurai family that won some awards. Sounds kind of cool.

• XIII: The Conspiracy
All I know about XIII is that it's a French spy comic, and the only reason I know that is because of that PS2 game from a few years ago. I didn't know there had been a movie starring Val Kilmer until I got on Amazon about 20 minutes ago.

​
Seriously, DC. If it means I can just read about Bruce Wayne kicking ass throughout time and him putting odd bat-logos on a variety of costumes, I'm honestly not sure if I'd mind him never getting back to the present. Much like the Bat-Pilgrim was the cover of Return of Bruce Wayne #2, Bat-Beard the Pirate here is the cover to #3. If you don't find the idea of a Batman-Pirate to be totally awesome, I... well, I honestly can't fathom that anyone would have that opinion, let alone why. Head over to DC's Source to see cover #4 and, uh... "Bat" Masterson.

​Oh, I love it when my interests collide like this! Francis Ford Coppola's winery is offering a 25% off sale on bottles of their 2006 Skywalker Ranch Merlot and Chardonnay, so ~$20 and ~23, respectively. I like to think the grapes are crushed personally by the bare feet of George Lucas himself, but that might not strictly be the case (look, I know I'm usually first in line to bitch about the prequels, but if I could drink wine made personally by George Lucas' feet, I would do so instantly. I fully admit this). Anyways, use those links above to buy the wine and enter "THEFORCE" in the coupon code -- it's good until February 15th, 2010, but be careful, because not every state allows booze to be shipped. (Via /Film)

​Admittedly, you would have needed $30 million, which not an inconsiderable sum. But for TV networks and movie studios, $30 mil is nothing -- especially for a franchise whose worst two installments (3 and Salvation) earned $433 million and $375 million worldwide. And yet, the Terminator franchise sold for $29.5 million to... well, let me let ex-sister-in-law Nikki Finke of Deadline explain:

I've learned that the auction for the Terminator movie, TV program, and other spin-off rights just ended after a marathon bidding session today that stretched from 3 PM this afternoon until 8 PM tonight. Both Sony Pictures and Lionsgate separately were bidding for the franchise, and then joined up after the first round was completed. "We're going to fight one hell of a fight," a Lionsgate insider told me in advance. Its plans were for "a complete re-boot, back to basics, with real emotional stories, and effects that will be secondary.

Alas, the studios didn't come away the winners -- which, I'm told, prompted a furious Sony Pictures Entertainment's president of worldwide affairs Peter Schlessel to "storm out" of the Downtown LA offices of FTI Capital Advisors holding the auction. (Sony had distributed Terminator 4: Salvation internationally.) Instead, Halcyon Holding Corp accepted the $29.5 million bid from, of all parties, the debtholder which  pushed it into bankruptcy, Santa Barbara-based hedge fund Pacificor. (This is the same Pacificor whom Halcyon accused in a lawsuit of extortion, bribery, and fraud and demanded $30M in damages.)

So. Sony and Lionsgate -- fuck, Sony and anyone -- couldn't outbid the company that the Terminator rights holders had recently sued? Recently sued from more than they sold the whole fucking Terminator franchise to? Call me crazy, but I think some shenanigans might be going on here. Ah, well. The only real losers here are the Terminator fans. No big deal.

It's also out today, so if you wanted to buy it, today is the first day which you could do so. GameTrailers made the above montage of video clips from the game's development over the last couple of years, which I think is fantastic -- it's great seeing all the old promos and footage, and it gives a pretty swell overview of the game overall. I mean, I did catch myself drooling about mid-way through the video, so I'm assuming I was liking what I was seeing.

​The Medicom Toy Company is based in Japan, but given their amazing output over the years you'd be forgiven if you thought that their corporate headquarters were in Awesomeville or on Shithouse Bonkers Toy Island. Medicom's most significant releases are Kubricks, terminally cute block figures that appear to be the offspring of Legos, sunshine and puppy dog smiles. Having licensed every property from Sesame Street to Planet of the Apes, the company continues to release highly collectible Kubricks that are available through your favorite comic store and online toy dealer.

The toys take their brand name from Stanley Kubrick, and the fact that there has yet to be any Kubricks based on the director's films is an example of the wonderful frustrations that they inspire. The problem with the damn things is that they often come in those irritating so-called "blind boxes," so you never really know exactly which one you are buying unless you go through the hassle of trying to rip the suckers open in the store. Another issue is that Medicom is apparently run by cruel geniuses who create chase Kubrick figures that are terrific and therefore impossible to find. Equal parts public service and dick move, this Daily List celebrates the 21 greatest Kubrick figures released thus far. You may not know these exist, but good luck living without them once you do. Be warned though, these toys tend to be as costly as they are cool.

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