Thanks for all the Dystopias

First of all, thanks for all your suggestions re: dystopian fiction/tv shows. I haven't heard yet if the course has been approved, but it seems likely that it will be.

I'm excited about this course: it would be my first large lecture course, AND it's a new genre course for me to design. Both of the Brit lit classes I'm teaching this semester are versions of courses I've taught before. Work-load-wise this is a good thing - a lot of prep time is saved - but, masochistically, I miss the frenetic joys and anxieties of a new syllabus.

Entertainment News

Because it's also been a while since I've done one of these...

A Knight's Tale: The TV Series?

“'Battlestar Galactica' show runner Ron Moore is developing a TV series adaptation of Brian Helgeland's 2001 medieval romantic adventure flick "A Knight's Tale" for Sony Pictures.

The original film starred Heath Ledger as William Thatcher, a medieval peasant masquerading as a knight and competing in tournaments, along the way meeting real life figures like The Black Prince (James Purefoy) and poet Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany).

My analysis: *Could* be a good idea, at least for those of us who’d respond well to a medieval who’s-who with Queen songs and tournaments.

This could be fun, although my skepticism alarm is going off: All-Female "The Expendables" Planned

"Dutch Southern has come onboard to pen the estrogen-fuelled riff of the star-studded action franchise. Several prominent actresses affiliated with the action genre are already said to be in talks with the company."

"Said to be in talks," eh? Can I have more vague with that vagary? There's also the fact that I don't think the average Hollywood studio exec could think of a female action lead beyond Angelina Jolie. So we’ll see if this project pans out.

In cool YA adaptation news, the "Z for Zachariah" film is going ahead with Tobey Maguire. The big question is who the female lead will be. I'm hoping for an unknown actress.

In polar news, Matt Damon is making a “South Pole” (read – Scott & Amundsen) movie starring Casey Affleck. This does not sound like a good idea. No it does not. Not at all.

First of all, if there's a polar exploration movie that needs to be made, it's Endurance. Ships being crushed by ice, men being hunted by leopard seals, people jumping off mountains because they're going to freeze to death if they spend another minute at that altitude - *that's* a Hollywood polar movie.

Secondly, the Scott-Amundsen story has already been portrayed, fantastically, in the BBC's brutal The Last Place on Earth miniseries.

Thirdly, Casey Affleck? WHAT? No, no, no, no, NO.

Finally: Argo ending altered so as not to annoy Canadians.

Damn straight.