Head Explosions and Other 90210 related injuries
August 31, 2012 / Reenie / Leave a comment
OK, I'm sorry, but I can't help it that the week I picked to dedicate to Doctor Who is the week pop culture decided to explode. So I'm kind of done with The Doctor for now. Also, blame Katherine, this one is all her fault.
And we're talking prime time soaps again. (Sort of.)
See, Katherine posted on facebook today that Jennie Garth and Luke Perry are developing a shopping a sitcom together.
Obviously, this is one of the greatest things to ever happen in the history of the world. (Even if I am totally Kelly/Brandon and Dylan/Brenda, but that's a different story). In case you don't know who these people are (SHAME!) Jennie Garth played Kelly Taylor and Luke Perry played Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills: 90210 in the 90s. And it was beautiful. Kelly was a snotty semi-slutty princess with an atitude problem, Dylan was brooding trust funded teenage alcoholic with an attitude problem.They fell in love one summer while Dylan's girlfriend/Kelly's best friend Brenda Walsh was in Paris. Then they broke up and got back together a lot, Kelly started dating and almost married Brenda's twin brother/Dylan's sometimes best friend Brandon. Then Dylan went on a vision quest and saw that in his past life he was an outlaw in the wild west and Kelly was a school teacher and they were married. (Brandon was a sheriff. That episode was fantastic in the worst possible way). Then Dylan moved to London and shacked up with Brenda for a few seasons, then he came back and he and Kelly moved to New York together.
And if you believe in the new series (The CW's 90210) they had a kid together. Except I don't believe in it, because one of the problems in Brandon and Kelly's relationship was that she found out she couldn't have children. So the idea that Dylan knocked her up on accident (oh this wasn't a planned thing, btw. Nothing about Dylan and Kelly was ever planned) doesn't really make much sense. Also, it said that Donna and David were getting divorced which is just blasphemy. So I disregard everything about it, thank you very much.
Now I don't care what the premise of this impending sitcom is. I don't care if they play a couple, or neighbors, or coworkers. I don't care. I'm going to watch it. I'm going to love it. It could (and probably will) be one of the stupidest shows ever, and I will still be so happy with the mind exploding nostalgic awesomeness that I won't care.
Tennant Vs. Smith: My Easiest Dilemma
August 30, 2012 August 30, 2012 / Reenie / Leave a comment
Day 5 of Doctor Who Week!
When I first started this blog, I had every intention of doing more "argument" style pieces. Maybe I'll recommit to that…anyway. Today we're back to The Doctor!
If you're talking about Doctor Who at all, generally there is going to be a comparison of Doctors. Who do you like better, who do you actually think was superior that kind of thing. When it comes to the relaunch people tend to ignore Christopher Eccleston.
I'm sorry sir. I do respect you for teaching Peter Petrelli how to use his powers on Heroes though!
And the attention goes right to Doctors 10 and 11, David Tennant and Matt Smith. And so that's where we are now. I will now dissect the merits of each Doctor and explain to you why David Tennant is just plain better.
Oops, kind of blew my ending there.
Anyway, here's why I think so. I appreciate Matt Smith's take on the Doctor, but I also think that it's deeply informed by David Tennant's. Also, I don't quite understand Smith's episodes. I'm all for long form story telling in television. (I ❤ Buffy, We have to go back, etc.) But I also tend to get bored when that long form gets too hard to follow. And The Opening of The Pandorica and The Coming of the Silence were really hard to follow.
Also, what I love about The Doctor is the sort of everyday-ness of his travels. Yes, there are adventures, but it's just the life, you know. Of course Tennant's doctor had epic stories to follow. The face of Boe tells him early in season 3 that "you are not alone," hinting at the coming of The Master. But generally, it's more episodic. I know I've talked about how I don't love "Monster of The Week" type shows, but that's only when the monsters are stupid. When the monsters are great, like on Doctor Who, then I like it.
Also, I love the idea of David Tennant, the biggest Doctor Who fanboy ever, getting to be the Doctor. The man practically dedicated his life to Doctor Who fandom, which of course makes him the perfect casting decision. This would be like your friend that gets drunk and speaks in Christian Bale's Batman voice getting to replace him in the inevitable reboot. Except for that this friend is actually really talented. (I may or may not be this friend among my friends…)
I do like Matt Smith, and I certainly admire his look.
Bow Ties Are Cool!
But I just love David Tennant. He wins.
We're Working On The Name
August 29, 2012 February 10, 2014 / Reenie / Leave a comment
I know I'm supposed to be writing about Doctor Who, and I'll get back to it tomorrow.
But sometimes, something happens and you have to find words. But there aren't words.
Because sometimes ABC gives Joss Whedon GODDAMNED S.H.I.E.L.D. PILOT TO PRODUCE.
OK, maybe that doesn't happen sometimes. But it did happen yesterday. Joss is going to write it, along with his brother Jed and Maurissa Tanchareon (who also helped write Dr. Horrible.)
And when that happens there is only one thing to say.
Shawarma?
No, Ironman, not Shawarma. It's Squee! There is nothing to do but squee!
There is going to be nearly a year of speculation but I think we can all agree that what this show should be is The Agent Coulson Show….right? We can all agree on that. Also, How I Met Your Mother needs to be cancelled like, yesterday, so that it can become The Agent Coulson Show with special guest appearances by Agent Maria Hill.
But where is it headed? Are we headed for what we've finally been waiting for, another years long epic adventure full of twists and turns and quips and amazingness? (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel) Or are we headed for another another fourteen episode cult classic? (Firefly) Or a high concept attempt that gets buried in it's mythology so it become an impossible quagmire? (Dollhouse) Whatever it turns out to be, it's going to be quite the ride.
Seriously, Squee!
Extermination, Upgrades and Blinking
August 28, 2012 / Reenie / 1 Comment
Today we're going to talk about the three big enemies of The Doctor. I'm talking about The Daleks, The Cybermen, and The Weeping Angels.
The Daleks
The Daleks have been around almost as long as The Doctor. They were the main villains in a 1963 serial. In the re-launch, we learn that The Doctor destroyed all of The Daleks (as well as the Time Lords) to end The Time War. Except somehow, they always come back. The idea behind Daleks is that they have evolved beyond any emotions except hate. They do not think of anything except destroying life that aren't Daleks. However, to look at them, they're kind of adorable.
Seriously, not at all frightening.
But as Chrissy put it, "they aren't scary like a horror movie, scary. The potential of the Daleks is what's frightening. They don't have souls." Couldn't have said it better myself friend!
The Cybermen
The Cybermen are basically the same in philosophy as the Daleks, if a step behind. They show up in the new series when The Doctor, Rose, and Mickey Smith (Rose's long suffering boyfriend) accidentally end up in an alternate universe. There, a brilliant scientist has engineered a way to live forever. He plans to "upgrade" all of humanity to be a sort of robot army. They invade earth by exploiting Torchwood London's curiosity. (Not Torchwood Cardiff. Jack's not quite so stupid.) What's poignant and Doctor-y about them? They were originally designed to not feel pain, however when they are damaged (as they sometimes are) their humanity is exposed and they are in agony. This is what finally enrages the Doctor. He loves when we feel human.
The Weeping Angels
The Weeping Angels terrify me. And not in a philosophical way like the Daleks and Cybermen do. After watching their first appearance, "Blink," I couldn't sleep. The Angels feed off of quantum energy, they send their victims back in time (before their births) and feed on the residual energy of their lives. The Angels one weakness is that they can never be seen. Hence, "Don't Blink," is the only defense. The Angels look like statues of Angels, generally have their faces covered, but when they attack their faces become gargoyle like.
So Freaky!
We know going in to this season that we're going to see Daleks (The premiere is titled "The Asylum of The Daleks), and Angels (Rory and Amy's final episode is "Angels in Manahattan.") in the coming season. I'm terrified that "Angels In Manhattan" is going to ruin one of my favorite spots in New York City.
I know it's cliche! I don't care, it's beautiful.
The Bethesda Fountain, which I previously associated with the opening of Friends and the heart warming closing scene of Tony Kushner's Angels In America is very likely going to be the scene of possibly the death of one of my favorite television characters (Amy or Rory, also that was a very Doctor-y sentence). So yeah, I'm hoping that doesn't happen…
Companions on The Journey
Day 2 of Doctor Who week.
One of the most important aspects of Doctor Who is that he doesn't "travel" as he calls it, alone. He brings "companions" on the trip with him. As I thought out what I was going to do for this post, I knew it would be tricky. I'd decided to rank companions, but the definition is a little wonky (like everything associated with The Doctor). So I've decided that I'm only ranking the opening credits, multiple episode, titled companions. Sad as that is for the likes of Captain Jack Harkness and Mickey Smith, that's the only way I'll be able to get through. (And again, I suck, I'm only familiar with the re-launch, so yes, I am aware that I'm ignoring 40+ years of history.)
6. River Song
Hello Sweetie!
God help anyone I knew who had already watched the show when they revealed that River Song was the daughter of Amy Pond and Rory Williams. I was so put out by the round about and convoluted story that I think I actually yelled at my computer. I do like River, the character, a whole lot. I love Alex Kingston who plays her.(ER, yay!) I've even come around to her relationship with The Doctor (they get married, she is also a Time Lord.) But I can't get past the inherent wierdness of the whole thing. So, she gets the bottom of the list.
5. Rose Tyler
I am the Bad Wolf!
This one surprised me when I thought things out. I love Rose. I think she's amazing. I love that she, unlike a lot of the others, actually gave up her entire life to travel with the Doctor. I love that she stayed through a regeneration (Eccleston to Tennant), and then fell in love with him. I love that she and I share a profession, (I too, work in a shop). I love that she gets to live out her time in an alternate universe with her very own Doctor clone. (As well as her reunited parents.) My attachment to Rose is a big part of why I had so much trouble coming around to River. But there are others that just outrank her. There's nothing I can do about that.
4. Amelia "Amy" Pond
The Girl Who Waited
The fiery Scottish redhead, who was the first person that Matt Smith's doctor encountered. Amy, like almost all of the companions, is at her best when she's telling the Doctor what he does wrong. And he screws up a lot when it comes to her. Although less stalwart than her husband Rory, she still loves the two men in her life and would do anything for them. (And if she dies, I might stop watching.)
3. Rory Williams-Pond
My head is full of Roman stuff!
Rory literally waited thousand of years for Amy. He was sent back in time as a Roman Centurian and Amy was frozen for her own safety. He waited and guarded her until it was time to wake her up. He is called, "The Last Centurion," and this basically sums up Rory. Also he took her last name (well, it was forced on him by the Doctor, but still). Rory and Amy are a package deal, but they both deal so differently with their time on the TARDIS that I feel the need to separate them.
2. Donna Noble
Super Temp!
I said that I think The Doctor is at his best when his companion is telling him how he can be better. No one was more lovingly critical of The Doctor than Donna Noble. She was a blue collar type, with a loud mouth and a bit of a ditzy demeanor. Donna's story turned out tragically, when in order to save her sanity The Doctor had to erase all her memories of him and their travels. He considers her his "best mate," and Donna was always funny, touching and willing to go the extra mile for the Doctor.
1. Martha Jones
Doctor Jones (Only the coolest of the cool get to bear that particular name!)
SURPRISE! Believe it or not, this is an answer that snuck up on me. But the more I thought about, the more I realized that while I'd never thought much about Martha, a posh medical student with an incurable crush on the Time Lord. But when I did think about her, I realized that almost all of my favorite episodes were hers. The entire Master storyline, Martha. The completely brilliant "Blink," where we met The Weeping Angels for the first time, Martha. I even like her arc on Torchwood best. She compliments the Doctor better than any of the others, which if we're being honest, is what we're looking for in a companion.
We know that we're getting a new companion in about a month. Where will she rank? (It will be below Amy and Rory, at least for a while.)
The Doctor Is In (Almost)
I think we're about due for another theme week? Don't you?
This time, it's about another gun hating, lonely avenger. This one's got a little bit more of a soft side.
Wiggly Wobbly, timey wimey AWESOME!
By this time next week, the new season of Doctor Who will be off the ground. So, because I'm me, I'm going to be posting about The Doctor all week.
Let's start with the basics, shall we? Doctor Who is a British science fiction series. It premiered in the early sixties and has been wildly popular over there ever since. It went off the air some time in the 80's and in 2006 was revived.
The show is about The Doctor, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, who travels around in his TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space), usually with a "companion" (previously known as "assistants").
He goes on adventures, saves the world all with two weapons, a sonic screw driver, and his dry wit. He's very funny.
The Doctor has had 11 incarnations in all. (He has a power known as "regeneration" which kicks in when he's been mortally wounded. This allows for the series to continue, even when the lead is ready to move on.) Because I'm a bit of a dilletante, I only know of the adventures of the most recent three, since the 2006 reboot.
The Tenth Doctor was Christopher Eccelston. Then we had David Tennant, and now we have Matt Smith. I love David Tennant forever, but Smith and Eccelston both have their moments, and I'm looking forward to what the new season brings! I've got no real plan on what I'm going to be writing for the next six days. I know I'll probably do one on the greatest enemies (Daleks, Angels and Cybermen), and one on the companions (bet who my favorite is will surprise you!) but beyond that, what do you guys want to hear about? I'm open to suggestions.
Are we excited yet?
The Quack Attack
Thanks again to Katherine for providing excellent blog fodder!
Yesterday she posted on my facebook wall, this article, a "Where are they now?" about The Mighty Ducks.
D2: The Mighty Ducks is my favorite movie of all time.
Secret Shame
Let me be perfectly clear here. I'm not being ironic, I'm not saying I love to watch this movie in a "so bad that it's good" kind of way. It is my favorite movie of all time in complete seriousness. If you showed up at my house at any hour of the day or night, and said, "Hey Reenie, let's watch, D2! (Or The Mighty Ducks, or D3 for that matter)" I would be 100% down for that. I watch it when I'm sad to cheer up. I watch it when I'm happy to celebrate things. I call people "cake eaters" to insult them. (Usually just in my head. When you say things like that out loud, people tend not to take you seriously or think you're a grade a nut bag.)
I went through a (several years long) phase where I read and wrote Mighty Ducks fanfiction. (I call this phase "college.") Seriously, I did this. I had one epically long series of stories that centered around a romance between Julie "The Cat" Gaffney and an original character of my making who was the younger brother of the captain of the varsity team in D-3. I'm ashamed that I did it, but it's also some of the best writing I did in my life. I also tended to ship Julie/Portman. The scene after they both get thrown out of the Iceland game in D2 is clearly sexually charged. (OK, I know the characters were only 12…but the actors were like 20.)
Sorry, but these are clearly men, not boys.
Did you know that it's even easier to play "Six Degrees of Mighty Ducks" than "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon?" Granted, most of the answers funnel through The Dark Knight Trilogy. And not just because of Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson either. See, Aaron Lohr, who played Dean Portman, was in Newsies with Christian Bale…The Sandlot also helps, Mike Vitar who played Luis Mendoza, also played Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez. With Karen Allen, James Earl Jones and Dennis Leary, you get pretty well connected. (Also, Karen Allen was in Animal House with Kevin Bacon.)
I convinced my friends that it was appropriate to quack at the screen during the Rent movie, because again, Aaron Lohr was in it. It really wasn't appropriate at all, he sang "Will I?" which is a tender round style ballad where all of the characters with AIDS (most of the characters) worry about what their future looks like.
I still think of The Mighty Ducks every time I hear "We Will Rock You," or "We Are the Champions."
I'm not saying this is normal. Far from it, this is one of the weirdest things about me.
Nope, this is still weirder
But I'm trying a lot harder these days to let my (fairly harmless) freak flag fly. So yeah, I'm going to talk about how much I love The Mighty Ducks.
I'm still going to say that Good Will Hunting is my favorite movie on first dates though.
Socially Acceptable Favorite Movie
I want to be accepting of who I am, but I also don't want to die single.
The Other Guy
August 24, 2012 / Reenie / 2 Comments
I think I was about ten when I realized that the third wheel of a love triangle was usually the most interesting character. It came to me in a musical (surprising no one). It was Eponine from Les Mis who did it. Like most little girls who listen to and love musicals, I was initially enchanted by "Castle On A Cloud" the lullaby that Cosette sings to herself as a child.
But after listening to my mom's Original London Cast Recording over and over and over, I quickly realized how little I cared about Cosette. Yes, her songs were pretty, but beyond that, there just wasn't a lot to her.
They beat you and refuse to feed you because you're boring, kid.
Eponine, on the other hand, who is hopelessly in love with the young student Marius, who is in turn in love with Cosette, she got me, and I got her.
I'm pretty sure if I never sing "On My Own," ever again my parents, siblings and friends would probably be OK with it. I listened to and sang that song so many times between the ages of ten and sixteen. I never performed it seriously, because by the time I got around to serious performance I knew the song wasn't right for me vocally. But I've always loved it, it's always meant a great deal to me. (As, to be fair, does most of the music from Les Mis.)
I started thinking about this today because I was going to visit Chrissy in her new apartment and the song from Wicked, "I'm Not That Girl" came on. Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of The West, can hardly be considered an "other guy," (the entire show is about her), but "I'm Not That Girl," is a very "other-guy ish" song, where she pushes out the idea of loving Fiyero, the dashing prince who dates her friend, Galinda.
"Don't wish, don't start,
Wishing only wounds the heart.
I wasn't born for the rose and pearl,
There's a girl I know, he loves her so,
I'm not that girl."
This is such an amazing verse, and I've always loved it. To me it sums up the deires of "the other guy." (Of course in the end Elphaba gets the guy, and then Galinda sings the verse in reprise.) This verse could have been sung by any "other guy" from a love triangle. And I've always loved that other guy.
I'm a sucker for it. Jacob Black in Twilight, I wanted that to happen. On One Tree Hill, where the creator of the show even said, "this entire universe exists so that Lucas and Peyton can be together," I still wanted Lucas to be with Brooke.
Brooke just wins. All the time.
My favorite love triangle resolution in the history of the world was on Lost, where they solved the Jack/Kate/Sawyer triangle and the Kate/Jack/Juliet triangle by having Sawyer and Juliet end up being soul mates. Yup, because it took literally, the two of them looking at each other on the beach at the end of season 4, for me to say "Oh my God! Sawyer and Juliet belong together! Because Kate and Jack are so boring and mopey and awful, and Sawyer and Juliet are so badass and awesome, and yes make this happen, happy yay squee forever!"
I don't care what your overall opinion of the Lost finale was. This was possibly the best moment ever.
It took me a while to trace this back to Eponine, but once I did, I was so entirely happy, it gave these other characters I loved an added dimension, a history in my cultural psyche. Any of the characters I talked about could have used her words:
I love him, I love him, I love him
But only on my own…
Eponine also taught me what emo was before emo was even a thing
It breaks the heart, but it's so much more beautiful and interesting (in fiction. I've also played this role in real life and it sucks.) It's why James Marsden left X-Men for Superman Returns, at least in my head. He was the Cosette in the Cyclops/Jean/Wolverine triangle, and that's boring…of course everything about Superman Returns was boring, but that's why he went on to do this again in Enchanted, and it was epicly awesome.
Anyone who did not find this movie completely adorable may be missing a part of their soul.
Jay Gatsby is "the other guy" and the book is named after him, it's not called, The Boorish Loud Obnoxious Buchanan but The Great Gatsby.
He's more interesting, more captivating. And, when it comes to musicals, he or she almost always gets the better songs.
Half-Bloods and Whole Truths
I fell head-long in to the universe created by author Rick Riordan in the spring of 2010. I was working at Borders, and all of these kids were buying these books, Percy Jackson and The Olympians. I had also seen billboards for a movie version. I did some googling and I was immediately intrigued by the premise.
The idea behind the books is that the ancient Greek gods and goddesses are real. Throughout history, they have moved around to wherever the "seat of Western Civilization" is. The gods currently reside in New York City. They also still behave as you would expect Greek gods to behave…pretty badly. They're promiscuous and petty, and absurdly powerful. They also continue to father and mother half mortal children. These kids, demi-gods, are powerful in their own ways, and extremely dangerous. They are chased by monsters, go on epic adventures, and attend a summer camp in Long Island called Camp Half-Blood. Our hero, Percy Jackson, is one such kid, a son of Poseidon with an epic destiny. (I have a very special relationship with Poseidon, but that's a story for another day…)
Seriously, it's a long story.
In addition to the first series there's a follow up series, The Heroes of Olympus, which expands the universe to include a take on Roman deities. Here we learn that the gods have 2 aspects, their Greek and Roman sides. Though similar they aren't the same, and for over a century the Greek demigods and Roman demigods have been kept apart, "for their own safety." They come together when Jason Grace, a son of Jupiter (Roman Zeus) and Percy are kidnapped by Hera and sent to the others camp with amnesia.
Also they ride a giant bronze dragon. Seriously this book series rocks!
Things get even more complicated though, because there's a spin off series as well, called The Kane Chronicles, which is about Egyptian mythology, and does, in fact, take place in the same universe. The Kane Chronicles is a trilogy, and it was hinted at in the first two books, and then confirmed in the third, that yes, these two worlds exist together. Several of the "Egyptian" kids attend school with the "Greek" kids, in fact one of the daughters of Aphrodite has a big crush on Carter Kane, the hero of the series. Riordan seems to have made it clear that he's no where near done exploring this universe, a fact for which I'm grateful. Even though The Kane Chronicles is over, the third book ended in a way that indicated there was some sort of fight on the horizon that will bring the two worlds together.
So, that's the background. I got thinking about Percy Jackson and The Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus and The Kane Chronicles this week because, between books, Riordan releases what can best be described as "world building" materials. This time it was a small book entitled, The Demigod Diaries. It features 4 short stories and a few other tid bits, and was definitely a fun read, and got me excited for The Mark of Athena, the final book in The Heroes of Olympus, which comes out in October. (I'm mostly excited because it means Annabeth Chase, my favorite character, is probably heavily featured, as she is a daughter of Athena.) What was most fascinating though, was that this time, Riordan delved pretty deeply in to the dark side of his universe.
Most really good children's literature has a dark side. Harry Potter would be pretty boring with Slytherin, Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy and Lord Voldemort. Lois Lowry's The Giver, which to me is the pinnacle of this level of book deals with difficult societal issues like euthenasia. Riordan's universe is based in Greek story telling tradition, which means that tragedy is not skipped over. Olympians, while funny and fun, also featured a traditional tragic storyline for it's antagonist Luke Castellan. Luke was a son of Hermes, who's mother went insane after trying to host the Oracle of Delphi, this way although she was a mortal, she and Hermes could raise Luke together. Luke ran away from home, had adventures with Annabeth and Thalia Grace (daughter of Zeus, Jason's older sister, it's all pretty complicated…), and ended up at Camp Half Blood. He was always bitter towards the gods, and particularly his father, and he eventually joined forces with the Titan Kronos and challenged Olympus and his former friends in war.
Because this is Greek tragedy, Luke has a change of heart, but he has it too late, and he is then killed in battle. The Demigod Diaries features a story told from Luke's point of view, about the day he and Thalia met Annabeth. Out of context it's another sort of fun take on Greek myth, but in context it's positively heart breaking, as Luke confessed to Annabeth that he loved her just before his death.
The other "dark" story in the collection wasn't written by Rick Riordan at all, but by Haley Riordan, his son, for whom Rick created Percy and the half bloods (Haley is dyslexic and ADHD, and so are the halfbloods, their brains are wired for ancient Greek, not English and the ADHD gives them fast battle reflexes,) and is called "The Son of Magic." It focuses on a young son of Hecate, the magic goddess, who sided with Kronos, and now has to suffer life as an outcast, as one of the only leaders who lived through the war he is not admitted to Camp Half Blood.
Lucky for me, these books are absurdly popular, because I really can't get enough of this world. I badly want to see what happens when the Greeks and Romans join forces with, or against the Egyptians. The hardcore fangirl in me really wants to see the romantic complications that ensue. Well, mostly I just want Sadie Kane, the main female character in Kane Chronicles end up with Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades. She already sort of has a thing going on with Anubis, the Egyptian god of funerals. I think this would be an excellent love triangle, Nico being all "Prince of the Underworld" and everything.
Dreaming The Dream
A few weeks ago a friend (I don't remember who, sorry anonymous friend!) asked me, "Reenie, is Anne Hathaway your favorite actress yet?"
I thought this was a strange question, and so I asked for clarification. Their explanation left me baffled, but made me realize, that yes, indeed, Anne Hathaway should be my favorite actress, and may have been campaigning for the spot.
It's not out of the question. Because the world does in fact revolve around me.
Hathaway got her start playing Princess Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi…or Mia, in The Princess Diaries. While The Princess Diaries was an adorable movie that most people saw, it was also a totally awesome young adult book series that a lot of girls my age read that has next to nothing in common with that movie (some of the characters have the same names, and it has the same basic premise…but beyond that, it's way different.) It's one of my favorite books. Then, after doing the sequel and shifting around a little, she burst on to the "adult" scene by playing Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada, also based on one of my favorite books. Then she played Jane Austen. And this summer of course:
Did you know that she was Catwoman? Did you know that she was awesome? Have I made that clear?
And coming up this winter:
Come with me, where chains with never bind you…
The film version of Les Miserables is opening at Christmas (I love that opening date by the way "Christmas" it's not opening on December 25, I'm sure…) and Hathaway is going to be playing Fantine. If for some reason you haven't read my "Lies Musical Theatre Told Me" series, I've already written about Les Mis on two separate occasions, here and here, so you can be sure that I really like it a lot. I love it in fact, and I'm really excited about this movie.
I was less excited about Hathaway and more excited about Hugh Jackman. But now I'm excited about both!
Also, guys, Wolverine and Catwoman, are playing Valjean and Fantine.
I feel like this is the part of the equation no one is talking about…