News 'n Stuff

Normally, I stick to the "four posts per month" format I developed after GdL returned from its unintended hiatus. But, seeing as how Strange Jason is having a little trouble, I figured I'd change my rules and do an extra post. Come to think of it, Strange Jason and I both doing five posts a month would be a good way of providing several updates without us running out of ideas. Personally, I'd let Atomic and N. Oremac pop in and out whenever they wanted to, as they have other (big) things going on that're eating up their time. Besides, I think that posting nearly every day would take away of of the specialness that the Halloween countdown has. I'll have to talk with the others about this so we can figure out a schedule that works for everyone. If any readers would like to make a suggestion, they are more than welcome to do so.

Our first bit of news is that Legendary Pictures, the people behind Batman Begins and Superman Returns, are supposedly trying to license the rights to Godzilla for a new American movie. I can't say I'm 100% thrilled with the idea. Although Toho has rebooted the Godzilla franchise numerous times, they've always maintained that the original 1954 movie was part of each continuity. I fear that an American reboot wouldn't do that and would thus cut off Godzilla from his roots, rob the character of his dramatic power and weaken the character's warning of the dangers of nuclear weapons. Tristar's "reimagining" also has left a bad taste in my mouth (and probably those of other members of the movie-going public). Although it would be pretty cool if they remade King Kong vs. Godzilla...

Speaking of things I learned about on Wikipedia, there's an Addams Family musical coming soon. In fact, it's already started its trial run in Chicago (November 13 2009 - January 10, 2010). The plot is an all-new story about Wednesday Addams being grown-up and falling in love. Wait a second, wasn't that plotline part of that Addams Family Values movie from 1993?

Blockbuster Video recently announced that it (and Hollywood Video) would being offering a new movie rental kiosk service using movies stored on...SD cards? I can't see this being a lasting service. Other kiosk services that use DVDs, such as Redbox, offer rentals for the same (or lower price) and use a format that most homes already have. Sure, a digital camera can read SD cards and be hooked up to a television for playback, but why go through that when you already have a DVD player or gaming console set up? Besides, many devices that can read SD cards are already DVD-compatible, so there's little incentive to try a new format.

I've saved the best news for last: Kellogg's is offering horror DVDs as part of the latest installment of their "Movie Lovers" promotion. However, presumably to keep kids from ordering those movies, the tokens needed to get the movies are found on "bran" cereals (Raisin Bran, Oat Bran, etc.) rather than the usual assortment of cookies, crackers and cereals that other Kellogg's DVD promotions had been included on in the past. The horror titles offered are a double feature of Ghoulies and Ghoulies II, Swamp Thing, When Good Ghouls Go Bad, and Goosebumps: Attack of The Jack O'Lanterns. Presumably, these DVDs will come in small square paper sleeves (with cover art and a summary on the back) like other "Movie Lovers" titles have in the past, rather than plastic amaray cases. If this is correct, then the Goosebumps: Attack of The Jack O'Lanterns DVD might contain some other episodes of the Goosebumps TV series. For more details about the promotion, click here.