Saturday, May 14, 2011

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‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’ is Back in Business. So What’s Changed?

Posted: 14 May 2011 10:25 AM PDT

After all of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’s March madness (not the fun kind), a plan was put into place to shut the Broadway musical down completely for a month between April and May in order to give it a major overhaul. And hey, guess what? As of this past Thursday, it’s back in performance for one more month of previews before its scheduled June 14th opening. But wait a minute, back up a bit: Major overhaul, you say? Yep: New staff was hired on, the script was rewritten, and if all goes well, the show– which is being referred to as Spider-Man 2.0– should now have, um, an actual story. So what’s changed since the last performance of Spider-Man 1.0? Here’s a rundown of what to expect:

It’s family-friendly.
I respect that creative mastermind Julie Taymor wanted to make something darker and edgier– something with some teeth– but let’s not forget who your audience is. According to new director Philip William McKinley, it now appeals to the “8-to-88-year market.”

The Geek Chorus is gone.
When talk of making significant cuts to the show first started bubbling up, the Geek Chorus was the first thing to go. It sort of sucks for the actors who played those roles, because yes, inevitably they lost their jobs. But given that the Geek Chorus functioned less as a useful narrative device and more as proxies for Taymor, Bono, and the Edge, they were entirely unnecessary. So farewell, Geek Chorus; we pity you the loss of your jobs, but we’re not exactly sad to see you go.

Aunt May, Uncle Ben, and Mary Jane Watson have been beefed up.
I don’t mean beefed up in the muscle-bound sense; but their roles have been expanded, making them more important to the story. This makes sense, since they’re AUNT MAY, UNCLE BEN, AND MARY JANE.

Arachne has been scaled way down.
This also makes sense, because really, Spider-Man 1.0 probably should have just been called Arachne. The New York Times reports that in a rare statement, Taymor herself has squared with the idea: “Arachne should not have overpowered that story but only enhanced it,” she wrote in an email. Now, she’s more of a guardian angel figure for Peter, rather than his primary adversary. Also, that bizarre song about the shoes is gone.

The Green Goblin is much less confusing.
Was he dead? Wasn’t he? What the hell was going on? No one knew. Now they do. Instead of dying at the end of the first act and reappearing in a hazy vision in the second, he’s present throughout the entire show. I’m not sure how I feel about him “cracking wise in a new scene lampooning telephone voice mail,” but hey, at least we know whether he’s alive or dead now.

Christopher Tierney is back.
Tierney, the Spidey stuntman who plummeted 20 feet into a pit below the stage in December, has made a full recovery and is back in the show. I think he may be a little crazy, given that in the aftermath of his accident, it was uncertain whether he’d ever walk again, let alone, fly; but hey, if he loves what he does, more power to him. In fact…

There’s more flying.
I know, I know– weren’t the original eight zillion sequences enough? Apparently not, though hopefully the five new sequences won’t result in too many weird injuries (I hesitate to say “any injuries,” because, I mean, let’s just keep in mind what show we’re talking about here).

The goal is to use spectacle as a means to support the telling of the story, not to use story as a means to justify the spectacle.
This is the major change that I’m interested in. The big problem with Spider-Man 1.0 was that it looked great, but that no one knew what the hell was going on. Ideally, the overhaul will have not only gotten its story straight, but more importantly, placed the importance of the story over the spectacle, rather than the other way around. Given the previous point about there being more flying sequences, though… well, let’s just say that I can’t wait to hear what people say about this one. Word from Thursday night’s audience is good– which may not actually mean much, but it’s a start.

But what about “With great power comes great responsibility”…?
It’s still not there. Or at least, the show’s creative team has declined to comment on the matter. Boo. Ah well; you can’t have everything, I suppose.

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‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’ is Back in Business. So What’s Changed?

Video: The Funniest Song About Joan Of Arc You Will Ever Hear

Posted: 14 May 2011 08:45 AM PDT

On April 25, husband-and-wife creative superforce Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer teamed up with Ben Folds and OK Go’s Damian Kulash for one night and one night only. The goal: To write and record a six-song EP to be released the next day. A tall order, perhaps, but for these guys, an infinitely achievable one. They called themselves 8in8, and the resulting EP, Nighty Nighty, is pretty spectacular. They released it under a creative commons license, hoping that people would then take the songs and make music videos for them, and believe you me, the people have certainly pulled out all the stops! One of the best of the bunch was made by Mikael Jaeger Jensen for the song “The Problem With Saints.” A quirky little Gaiman ditty, the song features such lyrics as My personal favorite lyric is “And the people that she hated will be neatly bifurcated and the British will no longer rule the world” (those ones are my personal favorite, but there are plenty of gems here, so take your pick); the video, meanwhile, is done in the style of an old silent movie, and when people die, they bleed crumpled up neckties.

You can nab the entirety of Nighty Night on Amanda Palmer’s website.

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Video: The Funniest Song About Joan Of Arc You Will Ever Hear

Gallery: The Best of Pop-Culture-Related Peanutweeters

Posted: 14 May 2011 09:06 AM PDT

Gentle Readers, allow me introduce you all to the brilliance that is Peanutweeter. What is Peanutweeter, you ask? Peanutweeter is a tumblr that pairs random Twitter posts with not-so-random Peanuts cartoons. The results are AMAZING. Some of them are by celebrities; some of them are about celebrities; and some of them are just plain funny; but in event, here are our 15 pop-culture related comics. Many, many more can be found over at Peanutweeter.com. Happy tweeting!

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Gallery: The Best of Pop-Culture-Related Peanutweeters

Parting Tweet: Judd Apatow Did Not Like Our Suggestion

Posted: 13 May 2011 03:30 PM PDT

Judd Apatow responded to this morning’s plea (is that the right word for something involving zillion-dollar Hollywood movies? Totally, right) for some flicks that work to stop compartmentalizing humor by gender. Request denied! It’s like organizing men’s razors and women’s razors at Rite-Aid: keep them in separate aisles or something terrible might happen.

(Still super psyched to see Bridesmaids this weekend, all this other stuff notwithstanding.)

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Parting Tweet: Judd Apatow Did Not Like Our Suggestion

The Good, Bad, and Good (But Upsetting) Films from Cannes

Posted: 13 May 2011 02:49 PM PDT

Cannes is underway, and if you (like us) don’t have the luxury of hanging out in France to see the rough cuts of hot new movies and witness the bidding wars, our roundup is the next best thing. We’ve got the deets on which films are looking good and which have alrady flopped. This year there seems to be an interesting dichotomy between films that had great buzz: There were those that either met or exceeded expectations (and got some financial backing for their efforts), and then those that were well-done but highly disturbing in terms of subject matter.

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The Good, Bad, and Good (But Upsetting) Films from Cannes

Video: Robots Fighting With Lightsabers!

Posted: 13 May 2011 02:05 PM PDT

Okay, so it’s a little slow and, um, robotic, but still. ROBOTS FIGHTING WITH LIGHTSABERS, PEOPLE. We’re either saved or doomed– I’m not really sure which.

[Via The Mary Sue]

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Video: Robots Fighting With Lightsabers!

The 5 Worst Things About Danielle Staub and Ray J Dating

Posted: 13 May 2011 01:58 PM PDT

According to Media Take Out, former Real Housewives of New Jersey star Danielle Staub and rapper Ray J are hooking up. There are many things that are gross about this, but I’ve managed to narrow it down to five.

  • The sex tape is inevitable. He already did one with Kim Kardashian; she has at least one circulating out there. Their managers both probably have Vivid Video on speed dial.
  • The reality show pilot is inevitable. They’re both veterans in that department – in addition to Real Housewives, Danielle is working on an upcoming reality show that costars Jake Pavelka and Heidi Montag, and Ray J seems to be done with (for now) For the Love of Ray J on Vh1. When Danielle’s show inevitably flops, they’ll be pitching one about their life together in no time.
  • The interview about their hot sex life is inevitable. Danielle has never been one to shy away from discussing her love life – she gushed on and on about all the hot sex she was having with her super gross bald boyfriend on Real Housewives, even though her obviously-disgusted teenage daughters asked her to stop. I predict an interview/ couples photoshoot in one of the tabloid magazines within two weeks.
  • The fellow Housewife one-upswomanship is inevitable. Danielle has a history of trying to copy fellow Housewives in order to stay in the spotlight. In particular, she seems to be single-white-femaling Kim Zolciak from Real Housewives of Atlanta. Kim had a single; Danielle had a single. Kim was a lesbian for awhile; Danielle was a lesbian for awhile. Now Kim’s dating a hot younger man and is knocked up with his kid. Oh, G-d, that means …
  • A baby is inevitable.

Let’s all cross our fingers really, really hard and pray that I am wrong about that last one. Or about all of them, really, but especially the last one.

Post from: Crushable

The 5 Worst Things About Danielle Staub and Ray J Dating

Internet Meme Fashion: You Can Own the Nyan Cat Scarf!

Posted: 13 May 2011 01:57 PM PDT

I resisted following the Nyan Cat/Pop-Tart Cat meme for about a month, since I didn’t understand the cuteness involved in a cat attached to a cherry Pop-Tart flying through space, set to a loop of high-pitched Japanese music. (Yes, the Internet is surreal.) Then I saw this scarf (by MasterPlanner on deviantART), and I’m sort of in love. Aside from the sheer color, look at the adorable cat!

There isn’t much more to the meme aside from the .gif I described and the music video that’s appeared on YouTube. I think that Nyan Cat fans fall into two categories: Those who can stomach the original, 3-minute version of the song, and the hardcore folks who crank up the 90-minute loop. Here’s the former:

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Internet Meme Fashion: You Can Own the Nyan Cat Scarf!

Friday Comments Roundup: I’m Naming My Child Epcot

Posted: 13 May 2011 01:28 PM PDT

Just to be clear, I’m not pregnant, nor do I have any intention of becoming so anytime in the near future. However, Crushable reader Kristen, if and when I do, I am naming my child Epcot. Because that is HILARIOUS. Anyway, here’s what all you fabulous Crushable readers had to say this week!

canonizer: She lost 5lbs of chin fat?!? (Crushable Quotable: Bristol Palin Swears She Didn't Have Plastic Surgery)

steph: Aw, nothing about when Steve Urkel visited the Tanners on Full House? For shame. It was actually the worst episode ever, but still, it happened. (7 Notable TV Crossovers)

Shae: Do you think the Queen would get her hit-men to take them out if they said yes? (Pippa and James Middleton Offered Millions for Porn Cameos)

Dove:
I'd say a HUGE do is to stay no longer than planned, and ALWAYS give firm arrival and departure dates. It makes me crazy when my husband says "oh Jeff's coming to town next week, either Monday or Tuesday." and I ask for how long and he says "I don't know, he didnt' say." Yes my husband is an idiot for not asking, but as a guest you shouldn't leave it a mystery.

My sister is actually terrible about this too, she'll visit my parents at Christmas and by January 2nd my parents ask "sooo… when do you have to be back to work?" She is 35.
(Space Relations: Guest Etiquette, Or How to Have (or Be) a Proper Houseguest)

Kristen: Joey Lawrence's other daughter is Liberty so Magic Kingdom or Epcot, not out of the realm of possibility. Bono has a daughter named Memphis Eve…but I have a feeling Bono is just untouchable enough to avoid these kind of lists. (Questionable Choices: Celebrities Naming Their Kids After Places)

Cara: Girlfriend needs to learn how to apply mascara correctly. (Meet Amber Scaggs, Corey Simms' Reported New Girlfriend)

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Friday Comments Roundup: I’m Naming My Child Epcot

Hot Shot: Andrew Garfield on the Set of ‘Spider-Man’

Posted: 13 May 2011 01:21 PM PDT

We love this shot of Andrew Garfield chilling on the set of The Amazing Spider-Man because he’s totally in moody Peter Parker mode. Just hanging out in Queens, thinking about his perky dream girl. Who could be us, us, if only we were a little… perkier.

(via WENN)

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Hot Shot: Andrew Garfield on the Set of ‘Spider-Man’
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