It’s no secret that science fiction fans can get a little overexcited about their franchise of choice, but things got heated last Thursday when the local Star Wars club of Norwich, England and a delegation from the Norwich Sci Fi Club, a group of Doctor Who devotees, got into a physical altercation at the Norwich Sci-Fi and Film Convention, hosted by the Star Wars club at the University of East Anglia. Apparently, the two groups had a longstanding feud that came to blows when the Sci Fi Club decided to show up on the Star Wars group’s turf to get a signature from Gram Cole, an actor from the time-travel series that currently stars Matt Smith. Though fandom disputes don’t usually escalate to blows, this is hardly the first time otherwise peacefully geeky communities have run afoul of each other. Here are some of the most prominent fandom rivalries throughout history, from superheroes to science fiction. … Read More
Marvel
How the Disney Deal Could Save ‘Star Wars’
It would’ve taken a seismic shock to get Twitter and the blogosphere to stop chattering about Frankenmummystorm Sandy yesterday afternoon — and that’s exactly what happened (okay, maybe just metaphorically). Late in the day, Disney announced that they’d closed a $4.05 billion deal to purchase George Lucas’ LucasFilm production company; the same announcement also included news that a new Star Wars feature film will be released in 2015, an Episode VII that will mark the beginning of a new trilogy. Movie geeks across the Internet went, shall we say, ape-shit. And so did we, initially — how on earth can anyone in their right mind expect anything but the worst from another Star Wars trilogy? Didn’t the last one sully our beloved childhood memories enough? But the more we’ve thought about it, the more we’ve come to the conclusion that this whole Disney/LucasFilm business could, ultimately, be a very good thing. … Read More
‘ER’ Actress Ming-Na Wen Second Cast in ‘Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D.’
She’s the voice behind Fa Mulan in Disney’s Mulan series, she played Dr. Deb in medical drama ER for several seasons, and now she’ll be playing play Agent Melinda May for Joss Whedon. Ming-Na Wen will appear in Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D. as an “ace pilot, a weapons expert, and a soldier who can — and has… Read More
The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories
1. R. Kelly says that he realized his marriage of 12 years was over after he watched The Notebook. No, seriously. “As the film credits started to roll, I couldn’t move,” he writes in his new memoir. “I burst into tears. People walking past me patted me on the back, trying to console me.” [via… Read More
The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories
1. io9 is reporting (and the AP has confirmed) the sad news that legendary science fiction author Ray Bradbury — whose prolific output included Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and one of our all-time favorite short stories, “Dandelion Wine” — died this morning in Los Angeles at… Read More
The Morning's Top 5 Pop Culture Stories
1. Iranian authorities have canceled a ceremony planned in honor of the country’s Academy Award-winning director Asghar Farhadi; while an official reason was not given, apparently many conservatives were upset with A Separation’s frank presentation of the troubles plaguing Iranian society, calling it liberal propaganda. [via ArtsBeat]
2. AMC Theaters will be holding… Read More
Gallery: Amazing Marvel Minimalist Posters
Thanks to the success of the Spider-Man and X-Men film franchises, and more recently, the Captain America movie, you don’t need to be a comic book geek to appreciate the beauty of these minimalist Marvel posters by Marko Manev — but it definitely doesn’t hurt. Click through for his understated odes to some of our favorite superheroes and villains in the Marvel Universe, and let us know in the comments which ones you’d like to hang on your apartment’s walls. … Read More
Did Donald Glover Inspire the New Spider-Man?
Remember back in June of last year, when Donald Glover was lobbying hard for the chance to audition for the starring role in Marc Webb’s Spider-Man reboot? A lot of comic book fans thought the idea of a non-white Spider-Man was totally out of the question. Perhaps we should take it as a… Read More
The Morning's Top 5 Pop Culture Stories
1. Tony Award-winning playwright and director Arthur Laurents (who wrote the books for West Side Story and Gypsy) passed away earlier today due to complications of pneumonia. He was believed to be 93. [via LAT]
2. After nearly a decade of false starts, production on Live to Tell, the screenplay that Tupac Shakur… Read More
The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories
1. There’s a rumor circulating (confirmed, and then deleted by the show’s official Twitter feed) that Justin Timberlake will host Saturday Night Live’s season finale on May 21, with Lady Gaga as the musical guest. We’d watch that. [via HuffPo]
2. Superhero confidence: While neither film has hit theaters yet, Marvel has already… Read More
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