Fancast: dish 'n dat

Ricardo Montalban with a fake plastic chest and long blonde locks, the first person to ever utter the word "Trek", the “Shatnerverse” novels and whales talking to aliens. No this isn't a sci-fi channel-induced nightmare, it's a cheat sheet of all things Star Trek over at Wizard Entertainment along with tidbits about the new cast of the JJ Abrams film. Print it out and keep it handy when venturing anywhere a math department, Silicon Valley or a comic book store [via Pop Candy]

Julia Roberts, Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols at the premiere of Universal Pictures' Charlie Wilson's War, December 10 at City Walk Cinemas. I was there! In the VIP room! You know, just chillin' with the ole' gang, knocking back a glass of wine. More about the event later today.

Last night the stars were somehow aligned, and maybe the bouncers were dozing off, resulting in me getting into the premiere and afterparties of Charlie Wilson’s War at Universal City Walk. The star power was unbelievable, and we realized this while walking the red carpet (which was very long) when we heard a disturbing “Juuuuuliaaaaa, Juuuuliiaaaa” chant coming from the fans lined up along the path. It took me a bit to figure out which Julia they were talking about (Child?) but once I looked over at the lovely lady talking to the press, I instantly knew just which Julia I would be sharing the theater with (!).

The film was great, the theater was nice, blah la blah, but the highlight of my night was walking out of the dark theater, struggling to regain my sight and nearly bumping into Tom Hanks. The Tom Hanks (did you get that? Tom Hanks??), casually chatting up Mike Nichols and Nia Vardalos, who looked marvelous and tiny in a shiny short thing and fantastic hair (she looks about 30 pounds lighter and 10 years younger than she did during her MBFGW days).

I then sort of flitted into the VIP VIProom (it was so VIP they nearly analyzed your IMDB listing at the door and ranked you accordingly) with the A listers, once again possibly due to a security lapse and was immediately surrounded by nearly the entire cast, in addition to journalist and Mike Nichol's wifey Diane Sawyer, looking spectacular in all black, the real life Charlie Wilson and his wife (I can’t imagine how uncomfortable it must have been for her during certain, ahem, special scenes that involved her husband and various strippers/Jacuzis/secretaries named jailbait), Cyia Batten, Producer Gary Goetzman; President and COO of Universal Studios Ron Meyer; Gray’s Anatomy’s Elizabeth Reaser; politician James Baker, among others. Rita Wilson was chatting up a friend about how crazy these past tree days have been, and Jud Taylor kind of giving me a bit of tude’ when I almost bumped into her (you’re not made out of crystal, homegirl, deal with it). It didn’t help that my friend struck up a conversation with her thinking that she was Emma Roberts.

Overall a spectacular night. Charlie may know how to win a war but he sure knows how to throw a great party.

The NY Times blog today wonders aloud about the rash of current films whose focal point involves the utter destruction of New York. They talk of "edifice envy", of the possible insensitivity of Cloverfield beheading the Statue of Liberty in a post 9/11 America, and the haunting war-embattled emptiness of New York streets in I Am Legend. Judge for yourself at Fancast's trailers for I Am Legend and Cloverfield.

In an insightful 2005 op-ed essay in The Boston Globe, the architectural historian Max Page argued that fantasies of New York’s destruction are actually vital to the city’s success.

“The best thing for New York might be the sight of King Kong tramping through the streets of Manhattan on his way to a fateful appointment at the top of the Empire State Building,” Mr. Page wrote. “For if there is one thing that symbolizes New York’s pre-eminence, it is that so many still want to imagine the city’s end.”

Indeed, the ads for “Cloverfield” are competing for our attention span with the marketing campaign for “I Am Legend,” the current box office hit starring Will Smith, shows one of the two towers of the Brooklyn Bridge in the background, the deck — and most of the span — having collapsed. The city is mostly intact, but depopulated and crumbling, an epidemic having wiped out seemingly all of humanity about three years before the film’s action.

According to Wikipedia, downtown LA has been destroyed several times:

* In the film Collateral downtown is the main setting for the film with a climactic car crash that happens on Figueroa street.
* In the film The Day After Tomorrow downtown was destroyed by an F7 tornado while other tornadoes destroyed the rest of the city. Also one of Downtown's buildings, the 611 Place, was seen in the New York Skyline later in the movie.
* In the film Independence Day the US Bank tower was destroyed, along with the rest of downtown Los Angeles by an Alien invasion.
* In Power Rangers: Wild Force, Animarium is setting by downtown Los Angeles.
* In the film Transformers a climactic battle wages between the Autobots and the Decepticons under cover of the high-rising downtown skyline.
* In the film Dragon Wars, Dragons destroy downtown Los Angeles, and one dragon hangs onto U.S. Bank Tower.

While I'm all for the fictional destruction of a city that talks so much smack about LA (I keed, I keed), how about the streets of Hollywood get a little love too? When are we gonna see giant turtles eating the buildings on Sunset and Vine? or three-fingered aliens wiping out the Hollywood and Highland center (which, I am sure, would be met with only applause from local Hollywood residents).

An Oregon man has been sending post-humous greeting cards to his family members, with help from his barber. A Christmas miracle! That, or they're not really cracking down on plot-stealing up in the big pie in the sky, like they used to.

The greeting read: "I asked Big Guy if I could sneak back and send some cards. At first he said no; but at my insistence he finally said, 'Oh well, what the heaven, go ahead but don't (tarry) there.' Wish I could tell you about things here but words cannot explain. "Better get back as Big Guy said he stretched a point to let me in the first time, so I had better not press my luck. I'll probably be seeing you (some sooner than you think). Wishing you a very Merry Christmas. Chet Fitch" [MSN]

No word on whether he also tape recorded loving messages with a thick Irish accent, or if Lisa Kudrow pranced around his local bar attempting to find a mate for his surviving wife.

Johnny Depp and fans at Sweeney Todd European premiere, January 10 in London. Apparently, someone forgot to tell Robert Downey Jr. that he didn't get the part, but he still somehow managed to sneak in unsuspected, and completely confused.

This post probably belongs over at The Big Picture, but I just couldn't contain my excitement about the upcoming film, Penelope. Christina Ricci! Reese Witherspoon! and my future husband, James McAvoy! If this Generation Y lineup doesn't impress you, then take a look at this photo preview courtesy of the studio and their marketing agency, which features a set that looks absolutely surreal. If you look close enough, you'll see some of artist Mark Ryden's originals paintings, who happen to be one of Christina Ricci's favorite artists (she is featured in one of this works).

Check out the trailer at Fancast.

Preparations underway for Sundance Film Festival, January 17, Park City. Nothing can shake the image in my head of the South Park episode where Sundance relocates to Park City, to the detriment of the sewer system, only to be rescued by Chef's Salty Balls. Classic! Look out Sundance! Here comes the raw food-eating Hollywood folks!

Daniel Craig at James Bond: Quantum of Solace photocall, January 24 in London, England. We don't really know what the new title means, but holy cow, Daniel Craig! Sexiest. Bond. Ever.

Pop Candy points out today that hamburger phones are selling like, uh, hotcakes (burgercakes?) on Ebay.

According to eBay, sales of the phones jumped 759% in a month after the movie's release. In the last month, 773 phones have been sold, and they're still pretty affordable; the average price paid for one is $10.45.

Is this a McDonald's-induced trend? Are people protesting Fast Food Nation? Not quite. Looks like this has everything to do with 2007's uber-film, Juno, where a hamburger phone makes a splashy appearance inside the room belonging to a very impregnated Ellen Page. Seriously, who needs a Blackberry, when you can have a super cool phone in the shape of a classic food item no one eats anymore? It's the next Lava lamp!

Catch the hamburger phone in person, at Fancast.

Would you like to dress like the girls from The Hills? We didn't think so. But just in case some of you out there are salivating to the thought of Audrina's floral prints, I present to you the Lauren Conrad line. Each item is named after one of her friends. Awww, Lauren, you shouldn't have. Such the sweetheart. Thanks our new The Vintage Society friend Beth for pointing it out!

Brush up on The Hills, at Fancast.

That Superhero movie you've been trying really hard not to watch? Stop trying, because you absolutely must catch the Miles Fisher impersonation of Tom Cruise. It is so dead on, it has garnered the attention audiences and critics alike, including the ever-cranky Defamer:

The secret Tom Cruise Scientology video gets immortalized in Superhero Movie with perhaps the best impression we've seen yet, courtesy of astonishing Cruise-alike Miles Fisher. Seriously--someone give this lusciously be-eyebrowed kid a shot at a legit career! [Defamer]

Watch clips of the film on Fancast.

The Soup really is a big time career stepping stone. The Soup's current host, Joel McHale, has been picked to appear on The Informant along with Matt Damon. He is following in the footsteps of Greg Kinnear, who landed gigantic roles in films like As Good As It Gets and Little Miss Sunshine, after having hosted the show for several years. [THR]

Sacha Baron Cohen is up to his old tricks again, this time playing the role of weirdo fashionista all over small-town USA to hilarious results:

This weekend, Variety ran a small but smirky story about Sacha Baron Cohen, the artist formerly known as Borat (and also Ali G, yo!), whose latest prank is playing Bruno, a flamboyantly gay fashion reporter from an unknown chiffon wonderland.

According to the Hollywood trade paper, several odd incidents involving a foreign fashion writer have been written up in local crime logs and also reported by regional Associated Press bureaus.

Looks like he's got everyone fooled, though it's not like he's made a trip to Fashion Week. [Fashionista]

All the ladies of America are looking forward to the return of the ladies of Sex and the City. So it comes as no surprise that news of the soundtrack is making waves across the blogosphere (did I just say blogosphere?). The tracklisting, announced today, and a few quotes from Fergie and Jennifer Hudson, follows (via press release):

1. “Labels or Love” - Fergie
2. “All Dressed In Love” - Jennifer Hudson
3. “The Look Of Love” (Madison Park vs Lenny B Remix) - Nina Simone
4. “New York Girls” - Morningwood
5. “All This Beauty” - The Weepies
6. “I Like The Way” - Kaskade
7. “It's Amazing” - Jem
8. “How Deep Is Your Love” - The Bird & The Bee
9. “The Heart Of The Matter” - India.Arie
10. “Auld Lang Syne” - Mairi Campbell & Dave Francis
11. “Kissing” - Bliss
12. “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” - Al Green featuring Joss Stone
13. “Walk This Way” - Run-D.M.C. featuring Steve Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith
14. “Sex and the City Movie Theme” - The Pfeifer Broz. Orchestra
[Sex and the City trailer on Fancast]

“I grew up watching Sex and the City,” Fergie says, “and I know a lot of my girlfriends did as well. We felt like these characters were our friends, so to be a part of this project has been amazing. I’m such a fan of the show and am very flattered that they asked me to be involved.”

The soundtrack also features a brand-new song from Oscar-winning diva Jennifer Hudson, who plays a personal assistant to Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) in the film. Hudson shows off her powerful pipes on “All Dressed in Love” (written by MC Jack Splash and Gnarls Barkley’s Cee-Lo Green), which plays over the end credits. “Jennifer makes it almost impossible not to dance out of the theater,” King says. [60 Cycle Media Press release]

Surprise! The audience mainly looking forward to Sex and the City film are...wait for it--women! Who would have ever thought! An analysis by Fandango of ticket purchasers found that 67 percent of SATC ticket-buyers are women also planning to attend with their girlfriends, whereas only 6 percent plan to take a man along for the ride. A man who's either gay or is being forced to attend! A whopping 94 percent of ticket buyers were women, with ages ranging from 20's to the 40's. [AP]

Watch clips and previews of the new film Sex and the City, on Fancast.

Critics everywhere are comparing Shia LaBeouf to a young Marlon Brando on the new film, Indiana Jones, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Some have positive reactions. Others? Not so much:

Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said the young actor is "introduced as a total copy of Marlon Brando on a motorcycle in 'The Wild One,'" and adds, "LaBeouf doesn't seem completely comfortable in his disaffected teen role, a part that does not play to the innate likability that is one of his strengths."

In a rare pan of the movie, Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips said disdainfully that LaBeouf's entrance "rips off Brando." And Robert Wilonsky of the Village Voice newspaper chain riffs that he's "The Mild One."

It certainly wasn't easy for costume designer Mary Zophres, whose job it was to come up with LaBeouf's trademark ensemble of leather jackets and motorcycle boots. She and colleague Jenny Eagan found several vintage jackets and had LaBeouf try them all on until they discovered the one that looked best. Then they had to recreate it several times.

"Mutt was inspired by Marlon Brando in `The Wild One,'" Zophres says in the press notes, continuing the theme. "We had to make about 30 of those motorcycle jackets because Shia does a lot of stunts and his costume got worn and dirty." [Yahoo! News]

Watch Shia on the set of Indiana Jones at Fancast. Can you notice a resemblance?

Everyone and their mama will be watching Sex and the City today (if they didn't already watch it last night), and so far, fans who have seen it are crying "hoorah!". Certain critics, however, haven't been so kind. The New York Times writer Manohla Dargis says the film "is the pits, a vulgar, shrill, deeply shallow — and, at 2 hours and 22 turgid minutes, overlong — addendum to a show that had, over the years, evolved and expanded in surprising ways," and adds "It isn’t that Carrie has grown older or overly familiar. It’s that awash in materialism and narcissism, a cloth flower pinned to her dress where cool chicks wear their Obama buttons, this It Girl has become totally Ick." She also suggested Sarah Jessica Parker's choice to grace the big screen was a mistake, and states, "I wish Ms. Parker had let that bee in her bonnet go silent." Uh, Bee in her bonnet? No word yet on exactly what century Miss Dargis is writing from. [NYT via US Weekly]

Watch the big NYC premiere of Sex and the City on Fancast.