Topless Robot

The Annotated Star Wars

2009-07-02 17:00:39

Star Wars in a Notebook!
Well, maybe not "annotated" as much as "done in a notebook." This video is part of the annual Star Wars fan film contest hosted by Atom, and you likely know many of the entries since they've shown up on TR at one point or another: the Star Sports video, the Death Star over San Francisco, that one where the girls strip each other with lightsabers, and a few more. They're all finalists, but I picked this video becuause I really dug the animation style -- it's super-cute. And given that the stripping-girls-with-lightsabers video is almost certainly going to win, I thought it deserved a look-see. Check out the other finalists and cast your votes here.

Star Wars TV Possibly Getting Potentially Closer to Plausibly Happening... Maybe

2009-07-02 15:57:52

Remember that live-action Star Wars TV series that George Lucas mentioned once like three years ago and then never said anything else about? Well, it's possible that there's been some movement on it, Scifi Wire reports incredibly vaguely.

Our Australian sister site SCI FI TV reports a rumor that preproduction is gearing up for George Lucas' proposed live-action Star Wars series, which is to be shot Down Under.

The site, citing anonymous sources, adds that the show is assembling high-quality writers from the Aussie TV industry, including writers from Love My Way and Secret Life of Us, who have been approached by Lucas' longtime producer Rick McCallum.
The as-yet-untitled series is supposedly set to debut in 2010, though there has been no word of a distributor yet. The series will reportedly be set between the eras of Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV--A New Hope and will not feature any major characters from the film series.

I don't know about this. One the plus side, Rick McCallum doesn't do anything but work as Salacious Crumb to George Lucas' Jabba, and I can't think of another reason for him to be in Australia; also, it's rumored that Lucasfilm has some big announcement at SDCC, although god only know what that is or how impressive it might actually be. On the less positive side, the last bit of movie news reported by an Australian news outlet from unnamed sources was that Christian Bale was going to play Dr. Strange, which is such bullshit I'm still kind of mad about it.

The point is, no one knows. Also, the live-action Star Wars TV series should still totally be The Chronicles of Lando Calrissian with Donald Faison.

Comic Movie Spoilers That Don't Make Me Miserable

2009-07-02 15:01:50

If you just started reading Topless Robot in the past few weeks, you'd be forgiven for thinking I have a policy to pre-hate all upcoming nerd-based movies. This isn't true; I just hate stupid ideas, and they seem to be coming fast and furious these days. So I'm glad to report two rumors/spoilers that cast the upcoming Spidey 4 and Iron Man 2 flicks in a more positive light. Spoilers ahoy, so be warned.

First up, if you were concerned about Mickey Rourke's Lord Humungus-esque Whiplash harness/outfit that got revealed a few months ago, Comic Book Resources says that's for an early scene in IM2, and Rourke will be wearing a more imposing, armored Whiplash/Crimson Dynamo-type outfit before the end. Now, I think that's a good thing. It's hard to take Rourke as a credible threat for Iron Man when his nipples are exposed.

The second rumor is very much a rumor, because I can't track down where it started, but i concerns Michael Papajohn's appearance in Spidey 4 which gave me a small nerd rage-aneurysm the other day. I just assumed that Raimi was going to re-re-retcon Uncle Ben's death, but someone somewhere has suggested that this might actually be Spidey villain the Chameleon in one of his disguises. I certainly hope that's the case, since it both fucks with Spidey and doesn't muck up the already murky waters of movie Uncle Ben's murder.

So yes. Two things thaat make me look forward to two comic-based movies, although admittedly they're not confirmed. It is possible, people. It's just not very often.

Geek Apparel of the Week: Venkman

2009-07-02 14:01:46

Seeing that "Ghost Buster" short got me wanting a Ghostbusters entry for Geek Apparel of the Week, and it wasn't hard to find my choice. I'm not generally a huge fan of the costumes-as-t-shirts thing, but I feel like the Ghostbusters' understated brown jumpsuit is a nice exception to the rule. Plus, Stantz, Spengler and Zeddemore all get screwed this time, since on Venkman gets a shirt -- equality for everybody but Bill Murray! It's $25 over at My Tee Spot.

Thriller, (Lego) Thriller Night

2009-07-02 11:55:26

The entirety of "Thriller" re-enacted with Legos. And I mean the entirety -- all 13 minutes of it. Hell, the guy even includes the warning in the front from Michael Jackson where he promises that he doesn't believe in the occult despite his crazy zombie music video, which I totally forgot about. Fast-forward to 8:30 if you want to get to the dancin'. (Via Comic Alliance)

Breaking: Supergirl Puts on Bike Shorts

2009-07-02 11:27:05

Supergirl is -- or at least should be -- the best superhero in the world for young girls (moreso than Wonder Woman, in my woman, who should theoretically skew a bit older) but Supergirl has dressed like a porn star dressed as a school girl for half a decade or so. But no more. DC editor Matt Idleson apparently made a decree not too long ago that he "never wants to see Supergirl's panties again." Apparently, she'll be wearing red shorts underneath her mini-skirt, and tragic as it is that this is news, it is news (I got it from NPR!), because these shorts are long, long overdue.

I can't tell you how much I approve of this. I know comics sexualize the heck of both women and men, but throwing Supergirl into the exploitative mix always struck me as wrong. I don't know if it's because she's supposed to be a teen (and presumably underage in most states) or if Superman's ideal's would probably force him to ask his cousin to stop flashin' dat ass, but it always seemed inappropriate, and I'm glad DC has finally gotten around to correcting this. I hope no one's upset about this, although surely someone is. It's not like Power Girl is putting on a sweater or anything; there's plenty of superheroines left to ogle. And there's always actual pornography, too. Thanks to Jamie for the tip. (Via NPR)

Asteroids to Become a Movie, End Times Upon Us

2009-07-02 10:31:49

I normally don't do this, but with the announcement that Universal won the rights to make a feature film based on the classic videogame Asteroids -- and by classic I mean impossibly shallow -- in a goddamn bidding war with three other studios (!), I'm just going to quote FilmDrunk, because he said it better than I could.

A F*CKING BIDDING WAR. For a movie based on three dots that shoot one dot at other small clusters of dots. If you can think of anything stupider than this... someone in Hollywood will pay you a lot of money. GREAT NEWS, EVERYONE, TOM CRUISE JUST SIGNED ON TO PLAY BLINKING LIGHT NUMBER FOUR! SOMEONE FINGER MY ASSHOLE SO I KNOW I'M NOT DREAMING!

These are the end times, my friends. It's all downhill from here. By which I mean someone's eventually going to make a movie of Oink!.

Optimus Prime Speakers Are Significantly Less Than Meets the Eye

2009-07-02 09:57:03

Oh, for fuck's sake. That's your Optimus Prime speaker idea? Just use make his severed head, and have two pieces which have never moved before swing out to awkward reveal speakers and make Optimus looks like his head's been smooshed by Bruticus? That isn't worth $50; hell, it isn't worth $10.

This isn't that hard, people. Either make a full body Optimus, and hide the speakers in his cab, or -- and this would be even easier -- hide them in his cargo trailer portion, like the Japanese did when they made that sweet Optimus Prime MP3 player. The only person I can think of who would want to buy this piece of crap is Megatron, so he can have a laugh while listening to the new Wilco album. (Via Gizmodo)

Ernie Hudson Is... "Ghostbuster"

2009-07-02 09:03:42

The Ghostbusters trailer re-edited to make Winston Zeddemore the star? Yes, please. This trailer has been paid for by the Committee to Remind You that Ernie Hudson Is Pretty Awesome, Man. (Via I Heart Chaos)

The 12 Best Thundercats Figures (Hooooo)

2009-07-02 07:55:34

By Kevin J. Guhl

The greatest action figures of the 1980s never really went away. G.I. Joe, Transformers and Masters of the Universe have persisted in some form in the toy aisles during the last 25 years. Even Voltron continues to get new toys on occasion, but there is one big '80s toy-based property that has yet to get its due -- Thundercats.

Thundercats was perhaps not quite popular enough to be among the upper pantheon of 1980s action figures, but it was certainly close and is fondly remembered today by 30+-year-olds. Sure, Thundercats lives on in the kind of nostalgia-based t-shirts and bumper stickers that one would find at Hot Topic, while a CGI movie is reported to be in development. But given the amount of relaunched '80s toys in '00s-era toy stores, it's insane that there have not been new Thundercats figures in stores! It's hard to believe that no toy company has obtained the rights to produce more Thundercats toys, be they reissues of the originals or, better yet, new figures of the characters made to today's higher standards. Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics series has proven that a direct-to-collector toyline with smaller runs can be successful. Let's hope that happens for Thundercats, or that perhaps we'll get an excellent wide-release toyline when and if the new film happens. Until then, here are the 12 best Thundercats figures from the original LJN series.
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