Sally Field flies into role of Mary Todd Lincoln in Spielberg's Biopic

Two time Oscar winner for Best Actress (Norma Rae, Places in the Heart) and current Boniva spokesperson Sally Field has been cast in Steven Spielberg's upcoming biopic about the life of Abraham Lincoln. Field will play opposite Daniel Day-Lewis as first lady Mary Todd Lincoln.

Field has been linked to the project since 2007 when Liam Neeson was set to play the 16th President of the United States. However, last week Spielberg reconfirmed Field's involvement and expressed his excitement to be working with her for the first time.

Personally I think this is a fantastic choice. Field has been in the industry since the mid 1960s and is still going strong at sixty-four. With two Best Actress Oscars under her belt, her acting talent is unquestioned. My only concern perhaps is her looks. Even at sixty-four Field is still an attractive woman, while the real Mary Todd Lincoln (as shown in the picture above) looks like Gollum's understudy from The Lord of the Rings. Then again if they can make Charlize Theron look like a hillbilly who opens beer bottles with her teeth, then I guess they can ugly up Sally Field.

Filming is set to begin on the project sometime this fall and will be based on the best selling book Team of Rivals by Pulitzer Prize winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. The movie will focus mostly on Lincoln's presidency and involvement with the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. A release date is slated for late 2012. (Um hello? Oscars anyone?)

In the meantime Sally Field can be seen next summer as Peter Parker's Aunt May in The Amazing Spiderman. Steven Spielberg is set to release The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn and War Horse later this year.

Josh Pence to young Ra's Al Ghul In The Dark Knight Rises

Man I just cannot get away from comic book characters tonight.

If you're wondering how you missed Josh Pence in last year's The Social Network you're not alone. While Pence's body was in the 2010 hit his face was not. That was because Armie Hammer's chisled features were digitally copied over Pence's face to form the second Winkelvoss twin.

Thankfully, Pence will be getting a chance to sport his own mug in next summer's The Dark Knight Rises, as he is set to play the young Ra's Al Ghul, the main villain played by Liam Neeson in Batman Begins. According to "Heat Vision" the character will be shown in flashbacks 30 years prior to the events in TDKR. This of course fuels further speculation that Ra's daughter Talia Al Ghul will have a major role in the conclusion to Christopher Nolan's trilogy. Further speculation also has Oscar winner Marion Cotillard playing the role but nothing has been confirmed yet.

As the expression goes, just another turn of the screw in Nolan's Batman saga. Now if we could just get some plot details...

KNEEL BEFORE MICHAEL SHANNON!!!

To those of you hoping that Viggo Mortensen might step into the role of General Zod in Zack Synder's upcoming Superman reboot, I'm afraid that your hopes have killed by kryptonite.

The part of one of Superman's oldest enemies has gone to Oscar nominee (Revolutionary Road) Michael Shannon. The casual moviegoer probably has no idea who Michael Shannon is, but I'm here to tell you that he is one of the most underrated actors working today. Anyone out there who hasn't seen Shannon as Nelson Van Alden in HBO's Boardwalk Empire is doing themselves a huge disservice. His small part in director Sidney Lumet's last film (who sadly passed away this past week at the age of 86) Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is riveting.

The 36 year old Shannon can project a sense of malice very rare among actors, a trait vital for the role of General Zod. Having said that I don't think I like the choice. I have little doubt that Shannon possesses the acting ability to pull off the role but physically I just don't see him as Zod. I'm probably biased because I wanted Mortenson and because I will definitely be comparing him to Terrance Stamp's performance in Superman II. I'm hoping I'm wrong though and that Shannon crushes it. What with Amy Adams, Diane Lane, and Kevin Costner all now part of the cast, the new Superman is shaping up to be an excellent movie.

One other note to mention is that the movie is now OFFICIALLY called Man of Steel. What with the success of the title The Dark Knight for co-DC universe hero Batman, I believe the title is fitting. Man of Steel heat visions its way into theaters December 2012.

Spock is Smaug????

I'm not often one to post rumors on my blog but this one was just to juicy to resist. Leonard Nimoy (you may have heard of him he was in some show called Star Trek I think) is rumored to be the voice of Smaug the dragon in Peter Jackson's upcoming two parter The Hobbit. Despite claiming retirement a few years ago to pursue his passion for photography, Nimoy seems to be hedging his bets as of late. He's set to voice Sentinel Prime in Michael Bay's summer robot WWE cage match Transformers: Dark of the Moon this July, and now this.

News of Nimoy's possible connection with the role appeared in last week's Entertainment Weekly and at this point Nimoy says that it is just rumor. However, it is key to note that he was very tight lipped about the prospect, making me think that Mr. Spock may be leaning towards voicing the part of Middle Earth's last dragon. That's assuming of course that Peter Jackson even offers him the role. Lots of things could happen between now and December 2013. (Smaug won't even appear until part two of the film.) The part could go to Pee Wee Herman or Justin Bieber for all I know.

Personally I think that this would be an excellent choice. He already has some experience with Tolkien's Middle Earth. Check out this very weird video he did called "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" back in the 60s for proof. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC73PHdQX04 Nimoy has an epic deep voice fit for a part like Smaug. The Hobbit is meant to a sprawling fantasy film so why not have a legendary actor voice the role? Even Richard Boone, the voice of the original Smaug in the 1977 cartoon, couldn't match up with Nimoy. The choice is quite (eh-hem) logical in my opinion.

Bill and Ted 3??? NO WAY!!

April Fool's Day is almost a week gone but apparently a third Bill and Ted adventure is no joke. There have been rumblings in the past about Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves re-teaming with writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon for a most excellent new movie. However that's all I thought is was--talk.

Turns out my thoughts were bogus.

Keanu Reeves, who played Ted Theodore Logan in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and the sequel Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, told MTV news that writers are about six weeks away from the draft of a script. The movie apparently will revolve around Bill and Ted's efforts to write the song that "saves the world." Reeves has stated that his work on the third adventure of the non-heinous duo will begin after he finishes shooting the action drama 47 Ronin.

Personally I loved the first two films. I was also ten when Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure came out and thought losing my virginity meant kissing a girl. Time marches on and things change. I highly doubt that a third Bill and Ted film will be welcomed by anybody but the staunchest supporters of the original films. Once again Hollywood is banking heavily on the nostalgia value of its viewers. But does anybody really want to see Bill and Ted in their mid-forties? The charm of the two best friends was the fact that they were goofy California teenagers. Furthermore, Reeves has moved on to bigger and better things. Does he really want to revisit this role? Is Alex Winter that hard up for cash?

Unfortunately this movie is bound to be made and even a time traveling telephone booth isn't likely to stop it.

DVD and Blu Ray Releases for April

April 5th: Tron: Legacy, Little Fockers, Casino Jack, I Love You Phillip Morris, Taxi Driver, Artificial Intelligence, Fiddler on the Roof, Babe, The People Vs. Larry Flynt, ...And Justice for All, Jawbreaker, Benny and Joon, Lars and the Real Girl April 8th: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader April 12th: Country Strong, The Incredibles, White Material, Summer in Genoa, Harvest April 15th: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I April 19th: The King's Speech, Somewhere, Rabbit Hole, Gulliver's Travels, The Way Back, Kes, Sweetie, Bambi, Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Short Circuit 2, Zombie Holocaust, If God is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise, April 26th: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Blow Out, Don't Look Back, El Topo, The Holy Mountain, Deep Red, Dinoshark, South Park Season 14, Growing Pains Season 2

George RR Martin has LOST his mind

Let me be perfectly frank. I am a huge fan of fantasy author George R.R. Martin. His reputation as "the American Tolkien" is well deserved. His Song of Ice and Fire series is compulsively readable and based in a gritty reality that pushes magic and mysticism to the background and medieval intrigue to the forefront. I'm quivering with anticipation for the HBO series based on his books called Game of Thrones.

Having said that, I was shocked to read this week how he bashed Damon Lindelof and the ending of the television show LOST. Referring to the aforementioned fantasy series in an interview with The New Yorker, Martin expressed concerns about the series stating, "What if I f**k it up at the end? What if I pull a LOST?" Martin also stated that he felt "cheated" when it came to the ending of the iconic television series.

With all due respect to Mr. Martin's writing expertise, I believe that a dragon has absconded with his brain.

Look LOST may be one of the most controversial endings of all time for a television series. I know that many people out that there were disappointed by the ending and that they were looking for something more. I can respect that. I don't agree, but I can respect it.

But to do what Martin did is tantamount to undermining the whole series. He's tacitly saying that because the ending wasn't what he wanted that the whole series was a waste of time. To quote fictional Seinfeld character Jackie Childs, that idea is "ridiculous, egregious, preposterous." You can't discount six seasons of fantastic writing, phenomenal acting, and flawless direction just because you didn't like the ending.

Even though Mr. Martin is a smart man (his Song of Ice and Fire series abounds with so much political, economic, religious, and psychological intrigue that I'd have to take several college classes to be fully versed) I humbly submit that he did not get the ending of LOST. LOST in my opinion was a fantastical metaphor for life as a whole, and just like life sometimes the answers are incomplete, unsatisfying, or not what you are looking for. As cliche as it sounds the joy of LOST was in the journey not the destination.

We never really find out what the island is. Is it controlled by God, the universe, or a power we can't understand? What happened to Walt or the survivors after they left the island for the final time? Why did Ben stay behind rather than join the rest of the group in the church? LOST left its viewers with the ultimate water cooler ending that will be discussed about for years if not decades. It's enduring power is the ability to get us to think, to question, to analyze. That is LOST's legacy and its testament to the world. How many television shows, books, or movies can say that?

I might have not written this article if not for Martin's comment that screwing up his fantasy series would be "pulling a LOST." That's just unfair and untrue. As Lindelof stated, "I don't take issue with his opinion, I take issue with the fact that he coined 'Pulling a LOST' as empirically f**king up the ending." Couldn't have said it better myself. Martin's take is at best myopic and at worst wilful ignorance. From somebody who wrote for television in the 80s he should have said he was worried about pulling a Seinfeld or a Quantum Leap.

To be even more frank I'd like to address George personally for a moment if I could. George let me break it down for you:

1--It has been 6 six years since the last novel in your series.

2--You spend too much time blogging about the Jets and Giants.

3--You attend way too many fantasy conferences when you could be writing.

4--Your good friend Robert Jordan happened to put out 11 books in his Wheel of Time series between 1990 and 2005. From 1996 to 2011 you will have put out 5.

5--You still have two more books to write after A Dance With Dragons comes out in July to complete the series.

6--The 14th and final book in the Wheel of Time series comes out in March of 2012 and Robert Jordan HAS BEEN DEAD FOR ALMOST FOUR YEARS. (Currently another author is finishing the works based on Jordan's notes, massive outline, and intended ending for the series.) That means a dead man will finish his series before you.

7--You're fat.

8--You're old.

George how about you worry about finishing the series rather than f**king it up? Or as Damon Lindelof responded in a tweet: "I've just been informed George is working on his feud response. I'll have it in five years." Nothing like a pithy, well written response by the master to sum up exactly how I feel about this whole situation.