"Yup, two corpses, everything's fine."

Oh, for the love of Pete!

Universal Pictures has attached Gore Verbinski ("Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise) to develop Clue, a live-action murder mystery based on the Hasbro board game that he would direct, reports Variety.

Verbinski will produce through his Universal-based Blind Wink company, along with Hasbro's Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir, who also have an overall deal at the studio.

Verbinski will next direct Bioshock for Universal.

"Clue" is one of the few board games to surpass $1 billion in sales, in more than 50 markets. It was developed in England by a retired legal clerk named Anthony Pratt during WWII and released in 1948.

A previous film version was released in 1985.

Clue will be turned into a mystery that Blind Wink's Jonathan Krauss called "A global thriller and transmedia event that uses deductive reasoning as its storytelling engine."

Listen, Verbinski, you have my admiration for making an incredibly fun an exciting movie our of a theme park ride, but don't think that such lightning is going to strike again for you with video game and board game properties (especially if you don't have Johnny Depp around).

Besides, Clue was already made into an awesome movie. Not only would you be tarnishing the name by making a second, but you'd also be making a film that doesn't even justify the name. "Global thriller"? The game takes place in one house!

How does all this make you feel, Mrs. White?

Featuring Michelle Yeoh on mandolin! (Just kidding)

You know what the antidote to my crappy day yesterday is? That's right! Chinese Bluegrass!

Boy, and he thought O'Reilly was pissed.

As tragic as the whole Haleigh Cummings situation is, it has since produced one satisfying development embodied by the right-side headline in the FTU this morning:

A little YouTube for Oscar night

In tribute to Hugh Jackman's "How Movies Are Made" theme tonight (oh, and great job so far, Hugh), here's a stunning piece of choreography for the bar fight sequence in the Serenity movie (found via Neatorama):



Alas, none of the principles are involved in this, but it's still a lot of fun to watch.

Or CBB for short.

It's not enough that the Florida Film Festival has frustrated me with their inability to post a schedule of films so that I can plan my trip, but to compound things they sent me an email announcing that they are showing Steven Soderbergh's little-seen two part epic Che at the Enzian over the next two weeks and I can't get down there to see it!

Dammit! Any of you guys ever heard of Cinematic Blue Balls?

"The Content of His Character"

Courtesy of Jim Emerson, I've come across a recent tribute to this year's "Quote of the Month" subject: Roscoe Lee Browne.

As Emerson notes, there's tons of great stuff over at Big Media Vandalism, so please go over and visit.

This just in: McCain doesn't like the Kitchen

On the CNN Political Ticker yesterday:

Sen. John McCain just may have blacklisted the hit talk-show The View after a heated, somewhat confrontational, appearance on the program last September.

According to Barbara Walters, the show's creator and co-host, McCain told her at a recent Washington event he won't be appearing on the daily gabfest "any time soon."

"He had been on The View and was not very happy," Walters told a gathering at Syracuse University, according to Portfolio.com. "And when we walked out and I saw him I said, 'Senator, so nice to see you. I hope you'll come on The View again.' And he looked at me and said, 'Not anytime soon.'"

Appearing on the program at the height of his campaign for the White House, McCain was aggressively pressed on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's qualifications to be vice president, as well as negative campaign ads that several independent fact-checks had called downright misleading.

Oh, the poor dear. We must protect McCain and Palin from such hard-hitting reporters as Katie Couric, Barbara Walters and Whoopi flippin Goldberg. That's OK, John. Go back to the warm, calming embrace of Sean Hannity over at FOX News. He's waiting for you with a blanket and cup of hot cocoa.

Rollie Pollie

I caught this on Neatorama last week. This is an artist's response to the new Pepsi logo:



Oooh, that works so perfectly, and that's bad news for Pepsi's marketers. They better hope this interpretation doesn't spread as wide as that little guy's waistline

The Gyro Captain Lives!

I took Mrs. Mosley on a quite trip away from it all this weekend. The TV at the Bed & Breakfast only received about two dozen channels, and I found myself watching a couple of episodes of Legend of the Seeker while Mrs. Mosley took an afternoon nap.


It's good sword and sorcery fun that plays it a bit more earnest than Xena did back in the day. It's also nice to see another syndicated fantasy series giving work to Aussie and Kiwi actors again.

Battle of Mid-Way

Greg Williams of The Tampa Tribune has created a weekly quiz where one must guess the movie by viewing the single frame that's at the exact center. It can be a lot of fun. Allow me to submit my own. Here's an easy one:



What? You don't recognize it? C'mon, it's obvious! The tension in Michael's face as he exits the bathroom stall and heads out to kill Sollozzo and Captain McCluskey?

Jeez! Nobody knows the classics anymore!

Cont. 10 pcs/pzs

Much to my relief now that I have started my next big LEGO short film, the Brickfilms website has been revamped and is back online (albeit with a few glitches). One nice addition is that they finally (finally!) went and got themselves a YouTube channel in order to host submitted films.

This one shows how they don't need to be huge and complicated to be good.

"Why oh why didn't I take the BLUE pill?"

As I was reaching into my car Friday morning to pick up my coffee, I somehow hurt my lower back (and it wasn't even a Venti). The pain continues, though I'm on the Doan's pills and that's taking the edge off a bit.

As to what caused it, I looked online for some medical advice and discovered it's due to a small, radioactive capsule implanted at the base of my spine. Fortunately for my friends and coworkers, the radiation doesn't radiate further that six inches out. Mrs. Mosley, however, will have to cut down on the cuddling until I have this blasted thing removed.

Rest in Peace, JW.

I have a couple of posts in my drafts folder that feature some of my favorite movie quotes. They are there as back up for when I have a long stretch with nothing else to say. Well, with the news that James Whitmore has died (hat tip to TDYL), I find it appropriate to post the requiem of Brooks, the convict he played so touchingly in The Shawshank Redemption:

Brooks: [narrating] "Dear fellas, I can't believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile once when I was a kid but now they're everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry. The parole board got me into this halfway house called 'The Brewer'. And a job bagging groceries at the Foodway. It's hard work and I try to keep up but my hands hurt most of the time. I don't think the store manager likes me very much. Sometimes after work I go to the park and feed the birds. I keep thinking Jake might just show up and say hello. But he never does. I hope wherever he is he's ok and makin' new friends. I have trouble sleepin' at night. I have bad dreams like I'm falling. I wake up scared. Sometimes it takes me a while to remember where I am. Maybe I should get me a gun, an, an rob the Foodway so they'd send me home. I could shoot the manager while I was at it, sort of like a bonus. I guess I'm too old for that sort of nonsense anymore. I don't like it here. I'm tired of being afraid all the time. I've decided not to stay. I doubt they'll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like me." [carves "Brooks was here" into wood. Admires his work for a moment. Then kicks out the table beneath him and hangs himself]

I got one word for you, Kelloggs: Munchies

I know a lot of the changes I'd like to see happen in our culture won't happen in my lifetime, but it's my sincere hope that this BS prejudice against marijuana disappears before I kick:

Cereal and snack maker Kellogg Co. said it won’t renew its sponsorship contract with Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps because of a photo that showed him inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

The Battle Creek, Mich.-based company said Thursday that Phelps's behavior— caught on camera and published Sunday in the British tabloid News of the World— is "not consistent with the image of Kellogg."

So the company that makes Fruit Loops and Cheez-Its does not want to be associated with pot smokers. I'm guessing that don't have a clear idea of their customer base, then.

The MST3k wishlist

In the past, I've posted lists of all the episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and highlighted the ones that have made it to DVD. Each update of the list shaded more titles in as they came out. With the latest release this past Tuesday, I decided to do the list differently.

Years ago, a devoted fan named Travis Hosey went down the list of episodes yet to be released and researched the property rights to each one to determine the likelihood of a MST3k release. Speaking as both a MST3k fan and a Librarian, this always impressed the hell out of me. So I'm reproducing his list with several modifications. First, I've removed the titles that have come out since then. Second, instead of listing them in chronological order, I've grouped them via his "Likelihood" ranking.

(Incidentally, the eight episodes released since he created the list were composed of one "Possible/Not Likely", one "Possible", one "Likely" and five "Extremely Likely", so his track record so far is pretty good.)

EXTREMELY UNLIKELY
212- Godzilla vs. Megalon
213- Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster
309 - The Amazing Colossal Man
311 - It Conquered the World
401 - Space Travelers
411 - The Magic Sword
508 - Operation Double 007
516- Alien from L.A.
523 - Village of the Giants
524 - 12 to the Moon
614 - San Francisco International
615 - Kitten with a Whip
703 - Death Stalker and the Warriors From Hell
704 - The Incredible Melting Man
801 - Revenge of the Creature
802 - Leech Woman
803 - Mole People
804 - The Deadly Mantis
805 - The Thing That Wouldn’t Die
807 - Terror from the Year 5000
809 - I Was a Teenage Werewolf
814 - Riding with Death
815 - Agent from H.A.R.M.
905 - The Deadly Bees
906 - The Space Children
1010 - It Lives by Night
1012 - Squirm
1013 - Diabolik

NOT LIKELY
110 - Robot Holocaust
113 - The Black Scorpion
307 - Daddy-O
313 - Earth vs. The Spider
315 - Teenage Caveman
317 - Viking Women and the Sea Serpent
319 - War of the Colossal Beasts
519 - Outlaw of Gor
522 - Teenage Crimewave
623 - The Amazing Transparent Man
624 - Samson vs. The Vampire Women
806 - The Undead
808 - The She Creature
901 - The Projected Man

POSSIBLE/NOT LIKELY
403 - City Limits
601 - Girls Town
705 - Escape 2000
909 - Gorgo
1005 - Blood Waters of Dr. Z

POSSIBLE
101 - The Crawling Eye
102 - Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy
111 - Moon Zero Two
112 - Untamed Youth
210- King Dinosaur
302 - Gamera
304 - Gamera vs. Barugon
305 - Stranded in Space
306 - Time of the Apes
308 - Gamera vs. Gaos
310 - Fugitive Alien
312 - Gamera vs. Barugon
314 - Mighty Jack
316 - Gamera vs. Zigra
318 - Star Force: Fugitive Alien 2
405 - Being From Another Planet
416 - Fire Maidens from Outer Space
422 - Day the Earth Froze
423 - Bride of the Monster
505 - Magic Voyage of Sinbad
510- The Painted Hills
608 - Code Name: Diamond Head
617 - The Sword and the Dragon
702 - The Brute Man
813 - Jack Frost
818 - Devil Doll
911 - Devil Fish
912 - The Screaming Skull

POSSIBLE/LIKELY
107 - Robot Monster
109 - Project Moonbase
201- Rocketship X-M
208- Lost Continent
323 - Castle of Fu Manchu
420 - The Human Duplicators
602 - Invasion USA
604 - Zombie Nightmare
605 - Colossus and the Headhunters
621 - Beast of Yucca Flats

LIKELY
203- Jungle Goddess
205- Rocket Attack USA
322 - Master Ninja I
324 - Master Ninja II
412 - Hercules and the Captive Women
415 - The Beatniks
418 - Attack of the The Eye Creatures
501 - Warrior of the Lost World
502 - Hercules
616 - Racket Girls
620 - Danger! Death Ray
903 - The Puma Man

EXTREMELY-LIKELY
105 - The Corpse Vanishes
108 - The Slime People
417- Crash of Moons
509 - Girl In Lovers Lane
520 - Radar Secret Service
521 - Santa Claus
610 - The Violent Years
611 - Last of the Wild Horses
618 - High School Big Shot
701 - Night of the Blood Beast
817 - Horror of Party Beach
819 - Invasion of the Neptune Men
910 - The Final Sacrifice
913 - Quest of the Delta Knights
1007 - Track of the Moonbeast

I can't write a witty title. I'm too busy geeking out.

Last year, Mrs. Mosley got the sudden bug to own a Nintendo DS. I certainly wasn't opposed to the idea, so we explored the option. Eventually, her desire ebbed and we ended up not laying down $130 for the system and however much more for games.

A tip today from Red and White has suddenly made a future purchase of a DS damn near inevitable:

LEGO Battles, developed by Hellbent Games, sounds like a kind of LEGO-based strategy game, in which players build and defend bases in the LEGO Castle, Pirates and Space Themes, using units mixed and matched from the sets. The press release promises "pirate swordsmen fighting side-by-side with wizards and aliens; dragons battling ninjas; and pirate ships launching broadsides against spacecraft and knights!" In addition to the single-player mode, local multiplayer battles will also be available.

As always, Stephen Fry is Awesome.

Via IMDb:

British comedian Stephen Fry used his time while stuck in an elevator in London to blog about the ordeal to his online fans. The funnyman was on his way to a meeting at the top of the city's 33-storey Centre Point Tower on Tuesday when an electrical fault brought the device to a halt, leaving all the passengers trapped.

So Fry took to his internet-ready cellphone to post comments about his situation on his Twitter blog, giving his Internet companions live updates.

Fry's first post read, "Ok. This is now mad. I am stuck in a lift on the 26th floor of Centre Point. Hell's teeth. We could be here for hours. A**e, poo and widdle."

He followed that message up with another moments later: "This is getting boring. Morale still high. Hopes of early night dashed. Engineers on their way in 20 minutes apparently."

While the group waited for help, Fry gathered everyone together for a photo, which he also posted on the internet.

After 30 minutes in the confined space, Fry was rescued, prompting him to post a final update: "We're free! Paramount Club had champagne for us at the bottom. I'm allergic, but nice thought."

He later went on to pay tribute to his fellow online bloggers for their messages of support during his ordeal: "Slept heavily after the Fry lift incident. Another thank you to all those who kept the Blitz spirit alive."

This is what black & white psychadelia looks like.

What a great way to start the morning. Hit it, Nina:

Feeling Good, Nina Simone
by mrfnk

Meet "Jenny"

Most of you have probably already met "Jenny" in her ubiquitous ads on all sorts of websites. Clicking on the ad takes you to her "blog" where she details the methods that finally proved successful in helping her lose weight. Here are the pictures:

Now you can trust me when I say that I myself have weight issues and I know where she is coming from, but it just seems to me that the "before" looks better and healthier than the "after". Sure, she has some meat on her bones, but not to the point where her health was in danger.

As for the "after", well, it seems to me that most of the 25 pounds she claims to have lost must have come from the surgical removal of her entire ribcage.

Quit starin' at me, Rufus!

I was watching the movie Heights last night while going through a list of music videos I have on VHS and Favoriting them on YouTube. At the very moment I got to Rufus Wainwright's "April Fools", damn it if he doesn't suddenly pop up as a character in the movie! For a musician that may enter my consciousness once or twice a year at most, that was damned freaky.

Roscoe Lee Browne Quote of the Month: February 2009

Naked in New York is the kind of film you could have sworn you've seen a dozen times already: A story concerning attractive bohemian New Yorkers and their complicated love lives. At least in this particular case, you have a lot of familiar faces to distract you. Big stars in major roles (Kathleen Turner, Tony Curtis, Timothy Dalton) and brief glimpses of up-and-comers (Luis Guzman, Calista Flockheart, Lisa Gay Hamilton) populate this quirky story.

And then, of course, there's Roscoe Lee Browne. He only gets one scene here, and it's as a theatrical professor named Mr. Reid. Our protagonist Jake (Eric Stoltz) has just shown him his new, slightly disturbing play and wants his opinion:

Mr. Reid: "Let me understand. At the end, the end of the play. The main character becomes depressed, and in a state of sheer desperation, kills everybody who resides at the lumber camp with him."

Jake: "Yeah. Yeah, because you see he realizes that, that there's no other way out. He, he doesn't have any other options. He doesn't have any choice but to kill them."

Mr. Reid: "Well, you know there's great writing in there. There really is great writing. (pause) But on a personal level, I think you might want to go and talk with someone in health services."