Stuff You Need to Know: David Tennant, Ready to Do Battle With the Undead

Pop culture news. There’s a lot of it. So you need it in easily digestible chunks with all the bloat removed. And you don’t need it the instant it becomes known. Or if you do, this post isn’t for you. But for those of you who have lives but still want to be kept up to date and stuff, here you go. You’re welcome. You can subscribe to the Stuff feed solo or get this as a free email newsletter.

Well, at least we get two things out of this new Fright Night trailer. One, we get some David Tennant. And we look to him to at least entertain us if the entire movie just goes right to hell. And two, we get a bit of humor–the last trailer was straight up serious, which left me cold. The great thing about the original film was that it was a horror movie with enough comedy in it to keep it from going 100% dark. It was a nice blend. So if they can get some of this dialogue with this cast and an updated version of that feel, we might have a decent movie on our hands.

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The new Sacha Baron Cohen film is The Dictator and “tells the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.” It’s also inspired by the book Zabibah and the King by…Saddam Hussein. Nice. That hits May 11, 2012. Source.

Django Unchained is the new Tarantino project that appears to have Will Smith attached to play the title role and apparently Leonardo DiCaprio in talks to play the villain. In case Smith passes, other actors in the mix who might step up include Idris Elba and Chris Tucker. Also attached are Christoph Waltz and Sam Jackson. No idea when the thing will finally take off, but I would imagine if they get everybody’s busy schedules lined up, it’ll be shortly thereafter. Source.

More Doctor Who? They’ve signed up Matt Smith for fourteen more episodes, some of which might air next year. No word on whether the two current companions will return. So. Stick that in your hmming pipe and hmm it. Or not. Source.

Elysium, the Neil Blomkamp sci-fi film that is not a sequel to District 9, has Diego Luna (Y Tu Mama Tambien) in talks to join the cast, which already has Jodie Foster, Matt Damon and Sharlto Copley in it. It’s humans vs. aliens again, yes, but knowing Blomkamp it’ll have a nice spin on it and I have made it my personal mission to see anything that Copley’s in. So. March 8, 2013 is the release date. Source.

The previously mentioned G.I. Joe 2, which is apparently going by “G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes,” has Dwayne Johnson in talks to play Roadblock. So if the first film was “The Rise of Cobra” and in this film they “Strike,” is the third film “Cobra Unionizes” or something? Just curious. Source: Variety.

Speaking of trailers, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo looks amazing. If they can fix the portion of the book that completely veered away from sense and logic, then I think it might actually be as good a movie as this trailer makes it out to be. I personally can’t see Daniel Craig signing up to play a character that is as inexplicably stupid as he is in the book. I can say no more. Well, I can say that releasing a poster with nudity on it is interesting, but probably barely necessary considering the buzz that will be going on this film. No pun intended.

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Killer Elite will have Jason Statham fighting Clive Owen to save Robert DeNiro. That is really all you need to know and, no doubt, the entirety of the pitch. It will hit cinemas September 23rd.

So…a new Lone Ranger, yes? Okay…I guess. Armie Hammer from The Social Network is the man and Johnny Depp is on board to play Tonto (explanation: it’s a Disney film directed by Gore Verbinski and the Pirates 5 script isn’t ready yet). It will open December 21, 2012. As everyone’s pointing out, that’s a crowded weekend and the second weekend of the first bit of The Hobbit. Mark my words: at least one film will blink and move. Source.

Luther. Series 2. Trailer. This is forty seconds of Win and Yes.

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If you haven’t seen the first series yet, I cannot stress enough how much you need to. It is genius television. It’s on DVD or Amazon Instant Video. Make it happen, friends.

The previously mentioned Somali pirate movie, Maersk Alabama starring Tom Hanks, has Paul Greengrass (Green Zone) getting an offer to direct. Source.

Risk is getting made into a film. Of course it is. It will “be set in modern day and take place all around the world.” I think a version that’s set in a convenience store would be much more bold. Source.

Stoker normally wouldn’t raise any interest, even with Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman and now Matthew Goode. According to Variety, “Story follows a teenage girl who, while mourning the death of her father, must deal with the unexpected appearance of a mysterious uncle (Goode).” The thing to be aware of, however, is that it’s the domestic directing debut of Chan-wook Park, who brought you Oldboy.

Interesting that we have two Titanic series heading to the small screen. There’s the miniseries treatment from Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey) and then there’s the “prequel” treatment about the construction of the ship itself. At the end of it all, we could get both, plus the Cameron film and Starship Titanic and just make a huge boxed set out of it…what do you say? Source: Variety.

Yes! Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is hitting the cinema. It will hit VOD August 26th and the big screen, September 30th. Source: Variety.

Roger Cormaniacs and friends of SFOP will want to check out Dinocroc. vs. Supergator, in which David Carradine facilitates the monster vs. monster carnage. It’s hitting from Anchor Bay on DVD and Blu-Ray starting July 12th.

ThinkGeek is offering Ghost Pepper Chili Flakes. It’s exactly what you think it is: “flakes of freshly crushed and dried Bhut Jolokia chillies.” Yes, one of the hottest peppers on Earth. So if you really are hardcore (more hardcore than me), then yeah, be our guest. But we warned you.

Couldn’t find Hobo With a Shotgun playing on the big screen anywhere? Me neither. No worries, though: it’s hitting Blu-Ray and DVD from Magnolia Home Entertainment and Magnet on July 5th. I am going to say three words and then you are going to pre-order your copy. “Rutger. Hauer. Commentary.” Here are your links: Blu-Ray and two-disc DVD with digital copy and single-disc DVD. Go. Hauer deserves a smash hit, friends. You know it.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is hitting Blu-Ray 3D on August 30th. You can pre-order that from Amazon here.

Missed the Broadway run of The Pee-Wee Herman Show? It’s coming out from Image Entertainment on September 13th. You can pre-order the Blu-Ray and DVD from Amazon.