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Here's the trailer for the next animated DC Universe direct to video film, Green Lantern: First Flight.

Looks like a must buy.  The release date is July 28, 2009.  Nuff said.

I'm usually crazy, but today is worse than usual.  Woken up early by my wife who could not start her car.  I get up and the car starts almost the second I turn the key.  Wife goes to work, but I can't go back to sleep.  Even worse, my mind feels like it is split in two pieces.  One half stuck in the real world and the other in the land of Morpheus.  I can't focus on my work.  What am I going to do?  I am going to watch Frank Miller's The Spirit.  And blog about each major scene. Just in case you are bored with my whining, I'll add some juicy Eva Mendes pictures to keep you awake, too.

Notice that I don't call it Will Eisner's The Spirit, like it says on this poster.  I already know that would be an insult to Will Eisner.  I started reading the Spirit in the 1970s and loved Eisner's unique vision.  No, this movie is not his Spirit, it's Frank Miller's. 

The opening scenes give me a ray of hope.  The Spirit's home in Wildwood Cemetery, from that oval window to the sign on the gate in front, looks just like Will Eisner's drawings.  I admire the photography, where the many elements are in black and white with color splashes here and there.  I first read the Spirit in the Warren black and white magazines.

Lorelei, the Angel of Death?  Never in the Spirit comics that I remeber.  But I can't keep saying that during the whole movie.

The Spirit moves around the city just like Daredevil during Miller's time--by running on electrical wires and on rooftops, jumping down from five stories like it is nothing.  FM's Spirit seems like a mash up between Batman (with narration like my-city-bleeds), Daredevil (movement), Wolverine (with his healing ability), and Archie Andrews with his gee whiz attitude.  With Eisner's version, I always pictured the Spirit as more of an ultra hip 50s dude, like Cary Grant.

I knew Frank Miller had a huge ego from reading various interviews.  I knew Frank Miller was self-indulgent from All Star Batman and Robin.  But I never thought he would actually act in this movie!  He's Liebowitz the cop.  Man, that vein on Frank Miller's forehead really bulges.

Eva Mendes come out of the water, photographed like she's a Revlon commercial.  She looks perfect after she emerges.  Nice cleavage and butt baring wet suit.  Sand Saref?  No, always pictured a young Kathleen Turner type. 

Sand can apparently breath underwater and also retain her makeup.  Mendes was obviously never in the water.  On the extras, she admits that she cannot swim at all and was terrified when she read the script.  No problem, Miller made It entirely green screen, like the entire movie.

I saw Nathan Fillion twitter about the Green Lantern trailer that a fan named Jaron Pitts posted on YouTube a couple of days ago.  Pitts stitched together scenes from various movies and TV shows.

Awesome.  The trailer really captures the richness of the Green Lantern mythology.  It picks up on the key story beats that have to be in any GL origin: Abin Sur, Hal being chosen for the ring, OA, the Guardians, the giant power battery, the inter-galactic members of the GL corps (Kilowogg, Chip), and the GL oath.

Wonder if WB will use any ideas for their Green Lantern trailer?  Making the WB logo green seems like a no-brainer.  Jaron lives in Dallas and has made other fan videos.  This one must have taken a lot of effort to put together.  Nuff said.

Update: Popdose has an interview with Jaron Pitts about the making of the GL video.

There are a few entertainment related podcasts that I've become addicted to over the past year.

My favorite show on TV is still ABC's LOST.  Despite the plot holes and lazy characterization (especially in the Season 5 finale with the whole Jack/Kate Sawyer/Juliet sappy quadrangle), I'm still hooked and hopelessly addicted.  After each episode of LOST concludes, I constantly refresh my iTunes podcasts to see when Lost: The Transmission has a new cast.  Ryan and Jen, a cute married couple who live in Hawaii where Lost is filmed, have the best Lost podcast on the Internet.  Each episode features a recap, a lengthy discussion between Ryan and Jen (great to have a woman's perspective) on the latest events, listener thoughts in "You All Everybody" and a look to the future episodes in the "Forward Cabin".  Ryan often gives great tidbits by reporting on various locations used by the Lost crew.  Of course, you have to supplement this by listening to Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse on the Official Lost Podcast.  This is more of a comedy show with the funny banter between the two writer-producers, though they will occasionally tell us what is going on.

If you're a sucker for behind the scenes information on films, then you'll have to subscribe to Creative Screenwriting Magazine's podcast.  Jeff Goldsmith, one of the senior editors, interviews the writers behind the latest movies.  He just released a great interview with Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the writers of the new Star Trek movie.  It's a fascinating discussion about the origins of the project and the various choices that were made along the way.  What I love about Goldsmith is that he asks the questions I would ask if I were sitting down with these people.  The back catalog of this podcast series is well worth checking out, over the past year Goldsmith has interviewed Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon), David Hayter (Watchmen), Drew Goddard (Cloverfield), Diablo Cody (Juno) and many more.  In addition to interviewing screenwriters, Goldsmith will also talk to producers or directors if they tag along.  He interviewed Tim Story along with Don Payne for Rise of the Fantastic Four.  If you're curious about anything related to film, or want ideas about how to break into the business, this podcast is superb.

Ever since the TV Guide podcast folded, I've had a vacuum for a weekly podcast about TV and movies.  The /Filmcast has filled that void.  It's the official podcast of /Film, hosted by three young bucks (Dave Chen, Devindra Hardawar and Adam Quigley) who have an appreciation for both movies and quality TV shows.  Each week they review a recent movie release, preceded by film/TV news and a rundown of what each person has been watching (either TV or DVDs).  Sometimes the boys will be joined by a special guest star.  Kevin Smith joined them for Dark Knight and Watchmen.  Character actor Stephen Tobolowsky (from Momento, Groundhog Day, etc) joined them to review both the Mummy and Towelhead.  The Tobolowsky episodes are hilarious, loaded with anecdotes about his life and movies, and he really dissects the failed story construction behind many movies.  There's usually two /Filmcasts per week, with the second one titled "After Dark", a free for all discussion of all things entertainment.  Sometimes there will be special podcasts on one topic.  They did an exhaustive review and examination of HBO's The Wire and also took on FX's The Shield.  The only negative I have against these dudes is that they seem to think Green Lantern is "the bottom of the barrel" (Dave Chen's words) for a comic book film adaptation.  Sacrilege!

Speaking of comic books, my favorite podcast is still Word Balloon.  Host John Siuntres asks the questions any fan would want to know.  He's recently interviewed Kevin O'Neill on the latest League of Extraordinary Gentleman novel, and that gives you a behind the scenes look at working with Alan Moore and the restrictions placed on them by DC/Wildstorm.  Siuntres has also recently interviewed Dan Slott, Jason Aaron, and Ethan Van Sciver.  Nuff said.

Like many of you, I saw JJ Abrams Star Trek reboot.  It was pretty thrilling, enjoyable despite many plot holes, and I thought they accomplished the impossible task of finding the right actors to play Kirk, Spock, and Bones.  I liked all of them, especially Simon Pegg as Scotty.

The photography was stunning, as well as Michael Giacchino's Star Trek Soundtrack .  I can't recommend the soundtrack highly enough--it's original but evokes tones of the classic Star Trek score at the same time.

I ran across this today in the special JJ Abrams edited issue of Wired, Paul Pope's Star Trek story:

The story and illustrations by Pope are a thing of beauty.  It's an interlude, narrated by Spock, during the time he spends marooned on that ice planet.  You can read the story online at Wired.com.  Nuff said.

If all the pre-release hype for JJ Abrams Star Trek reboot wasn't enough--with everyone from the New York Times to SlashFilm giving it rave reviews--the Onion steps in with this special report:

Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'

Fans upset about Klingon sub-titles in the movie!  What a riot.  Nuff said.

Director William Friedkin gave an hour long talk at the Hudson Union Society, which you can see here in its entirety.  He talks about many things in his career, including a lot of behind the scenes info on the infamous car chase in the French Connection.  Friedkin has a million stories to tell and his working on his memoirs now.  Nuff said.