Most American audiences know Chiwetel from his small part in Love Actually; he played the groom to Keira Knightley's blinding ultra-white toothy smile. Americans who don't know him from that probably know him from playing the antagonist in Serenity, where he almost single-handedly managed to outshine Nathan Fillion and crew. He played the lead in last year's Sundance hit Kinky Boots, where he literally walked away with the entire film. If you haven't seen Kinky Boots, I can't recommend it enough, last year I found myself liking it despite the predictable storyline and the hit-you-over-the-head message. This guy has so much charisma that he should be marketing and selling what's left over.

Although classically trained as a Shakespearean actor in the UK, his first film role was in Spielberg's 1997 Amistad. Since then he's also been seen in Dirty Pretty Things, She Hate Me, Four Brothers and Melinda and Melinda. He had four major film roles in 2005, and so far this year he's been in both Inside Man and Children of Men, which isn't too shabby. He has four big projects lined up in 2007, including two that pair him with Don Cheadle, and he can be seen in HBO's Tsunami: The Aftermath on Sunday, December 10.

Chiwetel ("Chewie," to his friends and Han Solo) is one of those actors who can be difficult to describe. He really has a commanding screen presence, but he doesn't have the forced "I'm the star!" quality of someone like Russell Crowe. He's more quiet and imposing without chewing up the scenery. He's played both a a cross-dressing drag queen (is that redundant? Like, a drag queen who dresses like a man? I think I just confused myself) and an interstellar bounty hunter in equally convincing and different manners. It's hard to be the Scene Stealer when you're not someone who tries to completely fill the screen with your presence, like Alan Rickman and Parker Posey do pretty well, but Chiwetel (I know that sounds like I'm on a first-name basis with the guy, but it sounded better than typing Ejiofor over and over) pulls it off in every role he's been in so far. Here's hoping he'll keep his streak running.

Besides, when's the last time we've been rooting for someone named Chewie that wasn't covered in fur?

Though we're not sure where or how they received this news, the UK site Life Style Extra is reporting that Rachel Bilson has nabbed the coveted role of Wonder Woman in Joss Whedon's upcoming superhero flick. As of this minute, Warner Bros. has refused to comment on the rumor, so take this news with a huge grain of shady salt, folks.

However, if true, Bilson, who is best known for her role as Summer Roberts on The O.C. (where, coincidentally, she once dressed up as Wonder Woman for a sexy seduction scene on the television show), has beat out a number of actresses including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Cameron Diaz, Kate Beckinsale, Charisma Carpenter and, yes, even her OC co-star Mischa Barton. Personally, I've never seen the girl in action, and so I can't form an opinion based solely on her acting ability. Yet, she sure does look awfully hot the part, and if Whedon happened upon the above-mentioned seduction scene, then perhaps that's what convinced him. So, what do you think?

Back in February Mark reminded you Firefly / Serenity supporters that a feature-length fan-doco was nearing completion ... and now it's finished! If you'd like to get your very own copy of Done the Impossible, which covers the period of history from pre-Firefly to post-Serenity, you can order the DVD at the movie's official site.

Ah, but what's this? Someting called a "free torrent" is available? The filmmakers DON'T MIND if you download their movie without paying for it? What kinda crazy, mixed-up 'verse are we living in here? Yep, provided you have the software required to download torrent streams, you can settle in and watch the 80-some minute Done the Impossible at no cost to you, the viewer. How nifty.

The Impossible filmmakers have several good reasons for allowing the free download, but they promise that the DVD version will have more extra goodies than the Firefly & Serenity DVDs combined, which sounds pretty impressive. Having just enjoyed the feature quite a bit, I'm definitely looking forward to flicking through the supplemental material. Needless to say, if you're someone who simply doesn't dig Joss Whedon's "cowboys in space" epic, then you needn't bother with any of this stuff. But if you're a diehard Browncoat who's looking for an affectionate and irreverent love letter to the fans from the fans, this passion-project comes highly recommended by yours truly.

Browncoats, I need your help yet again. By now, it is a well established fact that while I respect and admire Joss Whedon, I don't really get him. I wish I did, but I don't. I dig what he does, I love the relationship he has with his fans ... but I am only an outside observer. I'm not part of the magic. So I've gotta ask you Whedonites when it comes to Joss issues if I really want to get an accurate reading of the community response. If anyone knows of any gateway Whedon drugs or intro communities, let me know.

Okay, here's the story. An early draft of Joss Whedon's Serenity script is now being offered on EBay. It weighs in at a very healthy 190 pages, and includes quite a lot which underwent big changes before making it to the silver screen. It is Whedon's work, but it comes with this disclaimer: "...it is not the final version he filmed, directed, and edited together. That final version, the one we've seen up on the screen, is the version he's proud of. I may not be doing him or you any favors by telling you about his early ideas. But there is a lot of great stuff here that Browncoats would love to know about." My question is this -- if the guy doesn't really have Whedon's blessing to sell this script (which I believe his disclaimer clearly indicates), is it kosher for browncoats to go buying it? Are you a real fan if you buy the early draft of a cool movie, or are you a real fan if you stick with what Joss himself wanted you to know and see?

A number of dedicated Browncoats, as fans of Joss Whedon's Serenity are called, have organized an enormous event called "Serenity Now/Equality Now" to be held on June 22, 23 and 24. They are showing the film, which was spun-off from the cult TV-series Firefly, throughout the United States, Canada, England, Scotland and Australia to benefit Whedon's favorite charity, Equality Now. The occasion marks the one-year anniversary of the last advance screening of Serenity before its official release, and June 23 is also Whedon's birthday.

So far the event has 21 cities listed (each location is showing the film on one of the three days), but anyone living somewhere it isn't screening is encouraged to set up a show of their own. The website Can't Stop the Serenity gives information on renting a print from Universal, gaining public performance rights and finding a venue.  

I have to say, Browncoats are becoming my favorite sci-fi geek cult. They are active, they're united and they're doing it all to help women and girls of the world who are suffering from violence and discrimination. If you love Serenity, help out by at least attending one of the screenings if not putting one together yourself.

 

With Hollywood milking more and more money out of comic-book adaptations -- with X-Men: The Last Stand the most recent cash-grab to come down the pike -- any non-comics fan may very well be left scratching their head: What's all the fuss about? Why should they care about spandex-clad uber-humans with bizarre abilities? Well, when superhero cinema works, it's because those characters aren't just power fantasies for kids and adolescents; it's because they're great ways to explore archetypes, allegories and cultural signifiers.  If you're wondering why you should care about the X-Men -- or any of superhero cinema's successes and failures -- here's a handy cheat sheet to guide you through the symbolism and secret meanings of seven superhero cinema sagas past, present and (in one case) future.

Welcome back to the world's second most popular game show, Name That Wonder Woman (outperformed only by Who Wants to be a Batman Actor?). Today's contestant is Moviehole and their guess for the part goes to Nadia Bjorlin. Now, if you're anything like me, you've probably never heard of this woman. This, my friend, is because you've been skipping your soaps recently. Nadia Bjorlin is apparently an actress for the agonizing Days of Our Lives, and according to Moviehole, a recent press release from the DoOL PR people includes the sentence "Bjorlin is also one of the actresses being considered for the role of Wonder Woman." Now as Moviehole is quick to point out, "considered" can mean just about anything, but nonetheless, the woman's hat is now officially in the ring.

At this point, I'm beginning to believe anyone can gain consideration for the role just by expressing their interest in it -- for some reason this is one seriously hot property among actresses and they all seem desperate to associate their names with it as if invoking the title will somehow magically make it happen. You know, I heard Cinematical's own Karina Longworth was interested in the role. I'm just sayin ...

Welcome back, friends. I'm going to go in an interesting new direction -- some might call it radical -- with my column today, and actually do a geek-roundup news in review for this past week! That's right, it has only taken me three columns to get around to writing what I'm actually supposed to write. You may leave your praises and accolades for my journalistic prowess in the comments section. Now for the Geek Beat... 

X-men 3 is still coming, and you can't do anything about it. Nothing new has changed, and so we're going to skip right past the X-Verse for now and see what else the Geek Beat has to offer. If you've got some fresh X-News or opinions to offer, comment away.

A plot synopsis for the new Spider-Man flick has found its way to the internet. The legitimacy is still technically in question, but it seems to be right in line with what everyone was expecting. I'll have a lot more to say about the plot of this flick in the coming months, but for now I'd just like to complain once more that they are adding in Gwen Stacy after already making MJ the primary initial love interest and GIVING MJ HER DEATH SCENE. It wasn't enough that they gave the death scene to someone else - and didn't actually kill her - now they are going to parade her character across to screen to remind us of the insult. I know you casual fans out there can't figure out why we True Believers are so bent about this, but just take my word for it -- it's a big deal.

Here's what we know right now: Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly) is re-visiting the character of Wonder Woman and bringing an updated version to the big screen. However, since the film was announced, a slew of names have come and gone, leaving us with absolutely no idea who will finally land the coveted role.

Over the last few weeks, we've reported on all of the Wonder Woman rumors, debated who should and shouldn't play the sexy, kick-ass superhero, while listening to all of you comment and tell us your opinion. Well, now it's time to get serious. Since Whedon can't seem to decide who he wants for the role, we're going to help narrow down the selection for him. It's time we take a stand people! This is Wonder Woman we're talking about - let's attempt to make it so Joss doesn't screw this up.

The following is a list of seven actresses who should definitely not be playing Wonder Woman. I feel, as a community, if we can keep adding to this list, then eventually it will be narrowed down enough to a point where we will all agree on the perfect name. The perfect female. The perfect Wonder Woman.

... And I want to start writing letters to Joss Whedon immediately proclaiming that casting her will bring him a world of pain. Go ahead, I know all of you closet Lindsay Lohan fans are just dying to scream, "You're being very unfair Mr. Davis!" Right now you're searching the internet for pictures of me to hang underneath that gigantic Freaky Friday poster you hold so dearly, only to throw darts at my forehead and feel good about your aim even though I'm balding ... at a highly alarming rate.

It's okay to feel that way. I deserve it. But I can't just sit here and pretend that Whedon's uphill battle with this project wouldn't end in a deadly fall should this girl land the leading role. Wow, it felt good to get that off my chest. Thanks.

Anyway, Lindsay Lohan was recently quoted as being very interested in the role of Wonder Woman. The 19-year-old actress, who can be seen in such films as the charming Herbie: Fully Loaded and the always delightful adaptation of Every Nightmare I've Ever Had has claimed that she'd like to find more roles to "Show that I have some sort of stretch in me." Could Wonder Woman be one of those roles? "Wonder Woman would be cool. I'm trying to find roles right now that are different to anything I've done to show my abilities ... because most of the things that I've done so far are aimed at younger girls and are light-hearted." You heard it here first folks: Lindsay Lohan hates younger girls. Joss, I hope you're paying attention.

 

In an interesting turn on the comic book-to-movie trend, columnist David Hiltbrand notes that this isn't the only connection between geek culture pages and the Hollywood ilk. Despite the fact that comic books find far smaller circulation than your average studio film (a very successful title might move one or two hundred thousand copies, while a movie can far outshoot that in a single night of screenings), comic books continue to hold some inherent element of "cool," even to many of the successful movie types. Because of this, notable actors, directors and scribes from the movie world will sometimes find themselves penning comic book scripts- and they are always excited for the opportunity. Joss Whedon and Kevin Smith, of course, are obvious examples, but it extends to the likes of master storyteller Stephen King, BET entertainment head Reggie Hudlin, and actress Rosario Dawson. They enjoy it for a chance to work in a different medium, and to revert back to the fond memories they hold of comic books in their younger years; while comic producers enjoy the opportunity to find a fresh take on longstanding titles. Damon Lindelof, the co-creator of ABC's Lost is a good example, as Lindelof is currently writing Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk, and his take on the story is bringing great sales to the title. Whedon, of course, is another great example, as anything he touches in the comic book world seems to turn to gold.

The trend seems to be good for both sides - and as long as it produces good comics, I'm all for it. Whedon and King both spin masterful yarns, and even Kevin Smith's writing is enjoyable when he actually gets around to delivering it. It'll be interesting to see who else may show up in the comic book world if this trend continues. Who do you think is out there in Hollywood land that you'd like to see penning your favorite book?

In a recent interview with Empire Online, Joss Whedon shelled out some more details about Wonder Woman...and I'm just so not excited about this film. Since, according to Whedon, "[the script] is very awesome, but incredibly unfinished," we still don't have any idea who he's going to cast in the role. Recent rumors claim he may go the Brandon Routh route and cast an unknown. Hey, as long as I can say, "Damn, that girl is Da Bomb," then that's all that counts, right?

As far as story goes, Whedon explains, "I can tell you that the film will be about introducing you to Wonder Woman. She'll be wearing the outfit and there will be the bracelets, the golden lasso and Greek gods. She comes from a civilization where she's rather perfect, so she's the opposite to Buffy in many ways, but she's going through an adolescent rite of passage because she's new to the world".

Hmm, seems like my imaginary ex-girlfriend who left me after realizing that I was not the most amazing man on the face of the earth. Okay, so what if it was five minutes after she arrived on the planet - the girl was a quick learner. Whedon also says that he's working hard on a Buffy movie for Spike, and that he'll know soon whether or not that will actually happen. 

[via Dark Horizons]

Here are today's latest comic book rumors, courtesy of the ever-talented folks over at Comic Book Resources. Today's subjects are on familiar themes - casting rumors and property liscensing!  We've also got a quick word from Frank Miller on his new script. Awesome.

• Joss Whedon refuses to name names for Wonder Woman, despite drawing very near to finishing his script. He does, however, admit to creating his own villain for the flick, as Wonder Woman's rogue gallery is lacking, according to the writer.
• According to IESB, Terence Howard still claims that he is in talks to portray Luke Cage antagonist Willis Stryker.
• Denise Quiñones has been cast as "Rachel" in the upcoming Aquaman TV film/series. Rachel is a friend/possible love interest of the title character.
• Universal Pictures has picked up the rights to Christian Gossett's award-winning comic book The Red Star. They are apparently eyeing Night Watch director Timur Bekmambetov for involvement.  Read Martha's coverage of that story here.
• Frank Miller says that his new Sin City story involving a post-Hartigan Nancy Callahan "should surprise you." No shocker there - I'd be disappointed if it didn't.  

[via CBR]

For those among us who feel that the universe of Firefly/Serenity was much too short lived (yes, I count myself in that number, even though I was only a casual fan), Titan Books is here to take advanta...er...console you with a new companion book. Titan has previously published Serenity: The Official Visual Companion to the SF movie, and is now busily working away on a new companion book to the universe, rumored to be titled Firefly: The Official Companion. It is scheduled for a summer 2006 release.

Am I excited for this? Not really. I enjoyed the universe for what it was but was never a rabid fan, so the book holds no strong interest for me. How about it, fans? Do you see this as a neat collectors item, or a quick attempt to pull in some more bucks from the series?

The insanely talented Amber Tamblyn has apparently moved on much more successfully than the rest of us from the cruel cancellation of Joan of Arcadia. She's, like, Joss Whedon-busy, with two indie projects in the can (including Stephanie Daley, which is currently at Sundance trying to scare up distribution) and another currently in pre-production. And now she's got another job lined up: she'll star in The Grudge 2, playing the sister of Sarah Michelle Gellar who inherits "the movie's supernatural curse." Tamblyn's costars will be Arielle Kebbel (you know her from American Pie: Band Camp, of course) and Teresa Palmer, who will play the ever-popular "American schoolgirls in Tokyo."

The film, under the director of Takashi Shimizu (who also helmed the first ones - both the original and the American remake), will start shooting in Japan next month with an eye on an October release.