The Media Pundit

Breaking down Transformers 2

2009-06-29T22:58:00Z

Links to dozens of reviews and graphs comparing Transformers 2 to other block busters both good and bad. How does Revenge of the Fallen stack up against the Harry Potter franchise, and The Matrix trilogy? I'll show you.

Revenge of the Fallen gets universally bad reviews

2009-06-24T08:18:00Z

Reviews critical of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen are clogging the Internets with complaints over adult language, pot brownies, dog sex, and insulting racial stereotypes. And that's actually the good news. The bad news is the rest of the film sucks, too.

Bryan Fuller quit Heroes. Again.

2009-06-23T22:30:00Z

Addressing a number of thoughts from Transformers 2, Bryan Fuller leaving Heroes (again), and Cameron Diaz looking goofy.

Ed Harris adds to growing opposition to SAG contract

2009-05-28T00:16:00Z

Ed Harris has let his thoughts be known in a video opposing the tentative SAG contract, and he's sounding a lot like the writers did right before they struck the AMPTP.

SAG's new leadership a lot like the old

2009-05-26T20:01:00Z

Almost a year after their contract with the studios expired, the new "United for Strength" faction running SAG has the guild anything but united.

Some things are better left alone

2009-05-26T19:14:00Z

The rights holder of the "Buffy" franchise are heading back to the cinema, perhaps even without Joss Whedon.

Watchmen postmortem

2009-05-25T14:35:00Z

Eleven weeks later it looks certain that Watchmen was a blowout. (Updated)

Not bloody likely

2009-05-18T14:26:00Z

Fox was quickly caught lying about the "missing 10 minutes" of footage in the Wolverine screener, but are they lying about lying?

Good news for Dollhouse, deceptive news for Ron Brown

2009-05-18T09:01:00Z

Dollhouse gets renewed and Angels & Demons disappoints. Fox did the right thing, but did Sony?

Aaron Sorkin isn't done with you yet

2009-04-12T20:00:00Z

Aaron Sorkin may be ready for another show-within-a-show; Venom has landed two writers for development, and of course there are Vampires..

SModcast mirror updated

2009-04-11T20:20:00Z

My SModcast mirror (Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier podcast) has been updated with four new podcasts.

Once proud Lost, like Heroes, is having problems

2009-04-11T17:36:00Z

Lost, like Heroes, is constantly testing new ratings lows, and the reason is far more complex that simple burnout.

Miley Cyrus movie triples expectations

2009-04-11T16:50:19Z

"Montana" was only expected to pull in about $16-17 million for the entire weekend, but grossed that much in just its first day for #1 on at the box office.

House creator David Shore and Katie Jacobs interview

2009-04-10T03:16:00Z

David Shore and Katie Jacobs did a Q&A with the press on the fate of Kal Penn's House character, and the actor's new venture in politics working for the White House -- here is a complete transcript.

Lengthy Kal Penn Q&A about his new job, post-House

2009-04-10T03:16:00Z

Kal Penn did a Q&A with the press on the fate of his House character, and his new venture in politics working for the White House -- here is a complete transcript.

Felicia Day's "Dollhouse" ep gets axed

2009-04-09T18:41:00Z

News is out that Fox is only letting Dollhouse run 12 episodes this "season", and that the fully produced 13th episode guest starring Felicia Day will never air.

Warner Brothers is threatening to sue India

2009-04-09T00:53:00Z

Lost joins Heroes with record low ratings, SG-1 alumni to appear in SGU pilot, Iron Man 2 begins shooting and more.

Moving Twitter accounts

2009-04-09T00:08:03Z

The Media Pundit website gets a new Twitter account.

Verbinski is done with Pirates franchise

2009-04-08T23:40:44Z

A rumor from last spring has come to pass: Gore Verbinksi is dumping the Pirates franchise in favor of adapting Take-Two Interactive's BioShock into a feature film.

Roger Friedman is not the first pro to review a bootleg

2009-04-07T18:54:00Z

After James Hibberd pirated new TV pilots last fall, it shouldn't be any surprise that Fox's Roger Friedman did the same for the new X-Men spin-off.

Watchmen flames out against The Rock

2009-03-16T12:15:00Z

Watchmen stumbles to second place behind The Rock and Race to Witch Mountain over the weekend; history will remember as a financial flop.

Memo to Hayden Panettiere: Grow up or quit

2009-03-12T18:24:00Z

Rumors in U.S. celeb tabloids has Heroes star Hayden Panettiere disrupting the set over a petty personal spat with co-star Milo Ventimiglia.

Watchmen experiences mass walkouts in New York City

2009-03-10T14:05:00Z

A Chicago Tribune writer described a mass walkout during his screening of Watchmen, matching reports from other screenings this past weekend.

Watchmen - in 600 more theaters - won't even beat "300"

2009-03-08T04:10:00Z

Fantasies that Watchmen would open to $70 million this weekend went up in flames after the early numbers came in on Saturday.

io9: bloggers love Watchmen, critics..not so much

2009-03-06T10:46:38Z

io9 said it better than I ever could: bloggers love Watchmen, mainstream critics pretty much hated it.

It's all Watchmen this weekend

2009-03-05T11:13:00Z

Claims of excessive sex and violence, an 'R' rating, bad reviews and a creator that wants nothing to do with the film. It's time for Watchmen.

Nolan Ices Next Batman For 'Inception'

2009-02-28T10:00:00Z

Chris Nolan is putting the next Batman on ice to go make a crappy film that nobody wants to see.

Dollhouse and Terminator continue to struggle

2009-02-28T09:04:00Z

Dollhouse lost viewers in its second week after an already disappointing series premier.

Fox is finally slipping (casting news for Dollhouse too)

2009-02-13T02:06:00Z

Fox came within a hair of losing Tuesday night's ratings rat race to CBS, even with 800 pound gorilla American Idol calling the shots.

Two days from Dollhouse premier, and no screener

2009-02-12T02:58:54Z

In which I complain, yet again, about Fox stiffing me on screeners.

Elections have consequences

2009-02-11T22:50:00Z

The FDA has forced big-pharma company Bayer to spend millions on commercials back-tracking some of their misleading claims regarding questionable benefits of a new contraceptive for other ailments.

New SModcast mirror

2009-02-09T01:38:32Z

Added a mirror for the Kevin Smith/Scott Mosier podcast (SModcast).

NBC sees Super ratings for Super Bowl, dies

2009-02-03T02:38:53Z

The Steelers victory over the Cardinals in Super Bowl 43 was the second-most-watched Super Bowl in history, and third best overall.

Watchmen sequel may be off the table for Snyder

2009-01-31T18:54:00Z

Director Zack Snyder sat down with the Times to discuss the film for the first time after the lawsuit between Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox was settled.

DTV transition delay fails

2009-01-28T18:15:33Z

While the Senate passed a six-month delay for the analog TV cutoff, the House refused to follow today making the February transition inevitable.

Ars argues against delaying DTV transition

2009-01-22T22:09:00Z

A writer for Ars Technica agrees -- but fir different reasons -- that we shouldn't delay the DTV transition any further.

2009 Oscar Nominations

2009-01-22T18:27:00Z

The nomination list for the 81st Academy Awards.

Writers settle unfair working conditions lawsuit

2009-01-22T16:57:20Z

Writers and several networks and studios have settled a lawsuit over unpaid overtime and unfair working conditions prohibited by California law.

Update on Cabin in the Woods

2009-01-22T16:05:00Z

It appears that yesterday's news of Bradley Whitford talking to join Joss Whedon's "Cabin in the Woods" has been somewhat confirmed.

Bradley Whitford + Joss Whedon flick = mmm

2009-01-21T12:55:00Z

Bradley Whitford is in talks to join Cabin in the Woods, a "horror movie to end all horror movies" from Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard.

NBC losing viewers at same rate as Heroes

2009-01-19T13:15:00Z

NBC appears to be losing prime-time viewers at nearly the same rate as Heroes. Perhaps it's time to stop blaming Heroes for the failures of its network.

Gov wants yet another DTV transition delay

2009-01-19T09:00:00Z

Congress wants to delay the digital TV transition into June because the coupon fund ran dry, and because consumers have been too lazy to upgrade.

Prison Break purged, is SCC next?

2009-01-18T09:00:00Z

Prison Break has been canceled and will not see a fifth season. Will ratings-challenged Terminator follow?

Cable does not yet compete with network television

2009-01-16T04:00:00Z

By way of news that Scifi is moving the debut of Stargate Universe from summer to fall, GateWorld makes the erroneous claim that cable can and does compete with broadcast TV.

SaveTheBiz produces anti-strike vid

2009-01-14T05:32:00Z

A group of SAG members calling itself SaveTheBiz has produced a video that opposes a potential strike.

New FCC chair could mean pro-public agency

2009-01-14T05:17:00Z

President-elect Obama has announced his pick for the next FCC chairman, which could have significant effects on Internet network neutrality and "indecency" on television.

SAG delays strike authorization vote

2008-12-23T05:24:00Z

The Screen Actors Guild notified their membership late Monday night that the January 2nd strike authorization vote would be postponed in lieu of a national board meeting in the 12th and 13th.

When criticism becomes reverse-fanboyism

2008-12-23T04:38:00Z

When you're using industry-standard cherry picked quotes from critics as a point to attack a film maker -- a studio sin -- you're delving into reverse-fanboy territory.

This is what's wrong with TV

2008-12-22T21:30:00Z

Scheduling games are a perfect example of network TV disrespecting the people they rely on for their business.