Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Review: Beyond Epic!

Walking around the streets of Downtown San Diego it was impossible to miss the presence of director Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. The movie, opening August 13, had taken Comic-Con by storm. The Hilton Hotel sported a giant movie poster hanging down its facade and the Gaslamp Quarter District was home to “The Scott Pilgrim Experience” where fans could eat free garlic bread, make tee-shirts, play the Scott Pilgrim game by Ubisoft, listen to the movie’s soundtrack, and even meet the cast of the film along with the series creator Bryan Lee O’Malley.

On Thursday night during the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World panel at Hall H, Wright announced that the movie would be screening for Comic Con attendees at the Balboa Theater on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. With Thursday’s screening for special pin holders, Friday and Saturday screenings were open to the public. Sadly I did not have the requisite “Scott Pilgrim 1-Up” pin for Thursday night’s screening, but I was able to catch the film Friday night at the Balboa Theater.

To quote the billboards and posters for the movie, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is an “Epic of Epic Epicness.” By mixing action, adventure, romance, and comedy into a near perfect film Wright is able to bring Bryan Lee O’Malley’s series to life. The story follows Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) who falls for the new girl in town, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). However, things don’t go as planned as Scott must defeat her Seven Evil Exes to be with her. The movie starts off grounded in reality, but with the arrival of Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha), Ramona’s First Evil Ex-Boyfriend, the movie jumps the rails of reality into the fictional world O’Malley created in his books.

Wright envelops the world of the film with comic book style displays such as “ding dong” appearing on screen when a bell rings or the words “LOVE” floating out in a pink haze when uttered by Ellen Wong’s character Knives Chau.  One of my favorite examples occurs with the arrival of Matthew Patel. With Patel approaching to strike, everything around Scott slows down as he mouths, “What do I do?”  before throwing his guitar to Young Neil (Johnny Simmons). Scott gets himself into a defensive position, pulling up his left arm to block the incoming blow. Scott quickly follows with a vicious punch to Patel’s face with his right,  as the Street Fighter series’ “Reversal” flashes on the bottom right of the screen. The scene flows perfectly, beginning one of many beautifully shot and crafted fight sequences found throughout the film.

Like the Street Fighter reversal, the movie is littered with videogame references from beginning to the end. Other videogame references where the classic chiptunes from The Legend of Zelda, references of leveling up, stats, and even 1-ups. Defeated enemies even burst into coins. Clash at Demonhead, the band of Scott’s ex-girlfriend Envy Adams (Brie Larson), was named after the first Nintendo game O’Malley received as a child. Oddly enough, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World isn’t a videogame movie, but it could easily be considered the best one yet.

What truly makes Scott Pilgrim vs. The World a fantastic movie, aside from the visuals or the pop references, is the music. The musical aspect of the movie soars with Sex Bob-omb and Clash at Demonhead written by Beck and Metric respectively. I was blown away when the movie’s music video for Black Sheep by Metric starts playing on screen. Edgar Wright could quit making movies and have an equally successful career making music videos.

The cast of the movie is stacked. Michael Cera (Scott Pilgrim), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Ramona Flowers), Kieran Culkin (Wallace Wells), Chris Evans (Lucas Lee), Anna Kendrick (Stacey Pilgrim), Brandon Routh (Todd Ingrim), Alison Pill (Kim Pine), Jason Schwartzman (Gideon Graves), Ellen Wong (Knives Chau), Satya Bhabha (Matthew Patel), Mark Webber (Stephen Stills), Brie Larson (Envy Adams), Aubrey Plaza (Julie Powers), Mae Whitman (Roxy Richter) , and Johnny Simmons (Young Neil) just to name a few. Everyone in the film delivers. Cera kicks it into high gear with a shocking performance in his fight scenes against Evil Exes:  Matthew Patel (Bhabha), Lucas Lee (Evan), Vegan Powered Todd Ingram (Routh), furious Roxy Richter (Whitman), and notorious Gideon Graves (Schwartzman). Even with great performances by everyone in the cast, it is Kieran Culkin’s portrayal of Wallace Wells that steals the show. Some may say Wallace’s lines make Culkin’s performance great, but it is Culkin’s delivery that seals the deal. The best part about the characters in the movie are how well they compare to the characters in the books.

Comparing the movie to the book series, fans will be very well pleased with the film’s adaptation. The characters are true to their nature that O’Malley crafted in the series. I honestly believe Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is the best comic book movie made to date, purists might not. Character back-stories seen in the novels do not make it into the film; neither does the character Lisa Miller. She does get referenced in the movie at one point or another. Coming in around two hours of screen time the movie cuts corners, but it cuts them well. The movie follows the books closely till the end of the third book. Dealing with Books Four and Five, Wright streamlines the novels picking and choosing certain scenes and changing how some of them play out. The movie does take a good portion of concepts from the sixth book and works them in superbly. Does cutting out back-story and someone from Scott’s past work? Absolutely. There is only so much a movie can cover from thousand plus pages of material. However, by cutting out the back-story those fans looking for deep characters won’t find them here. Wright and the screenwriters chose what to keep and  what to remove. Judging from the crowd’s reaction when the credits rolled, Wright and crew proved they done it perfectly.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a very fast paced film. It has a lot of ground to cover and it moves, looks, and feels just like a comic book. Edgar Wright’s attention to detail and his strive for perfection pay off with the deliverance of a near perfect movie. The fast pace of the film can be offsetting to some and the lack of character development compared to Bryan Lee O’Malley’s series might turn a few fans off. With many book to movie adaptations turning up lackluster, it is rare to see a director that treats the source material for a movie with such respect.  With the movie’s credits rolling 1300 people in Balboa Theater got to their feet for one of the loudest standing ovations.

Sporting breathtaking action scenes, hilarious dialogue, top notch soundtrack, a fully loaded cast, and insane scenarios, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is one the best movie experiences you’ll ever have.

Final Grade – A+

Question for Edgar Wright – In the off chance that I or someone else manages to get Edgar Wright to read this paragraph, I have a question for him pertaining to the ending of the movie. Back in February when I saw an early screening of the film the ending was different. What lead to the change of this? Both endings are great and the new one is more likely to be well received, but what was the ultimate decision in changing it?

Photo by Double Negative & Kerry Hayes – © 2010 Universal Studios

Comic-Con 2010: Eureka/Warehouse 13 Panel & Press Room: Something for Everyone

The Syfy Channel had quite the presence at this year’s Comic-Con, and the fans who attended the panels and screenings seemed amped up and excited about each show being aired this year. I sat through the panels for both Caprica and Stargate for enjoyment, though they will be covered by other Poptimal writers. I also had the chance to not only view pieces of the upcoming seasons, but to sit and chat with some cast members from both Eureka and Warehouse 13 at a joint event.

To bring everyone up to speed, a little background. Eureka is a comedy that started out as a drama (more on that later) about a town in California populated almost exclusively by geniuses (geniuii?). They work at a company called Global Dynamics and have been responsible for most major technological advancements in the last fifty years. In an interesting twist, the shows writers have managed to introduce an alternate timeline, basically starting the show and characters over from scratch. It could have been a disaster, totally losing the audience in the process. Since it worked, however, we’ll refer to it as a brilliant idea.

Warehouse 13 is based on a group of Secret Service agents assigned to protect the supernatural objects housed in the warehouse and investigate reports of new sightings. The cast has great chemistry and the show is a nice piece of science fiction imagining – while being funny, which is harder than it might sound. Warehouse 13 and Eureka have done a crossover episode and plan to do more of the same in the future.

Colin Ferguson, the star of Eureka and one of the town’s only non-geniuses (geniuii?), sat down with us after the panel to talk about the show and what he is most excited about seeing in the future. He was also part of my most embarrassing moment of Comic-Con (okay, second most. The first has to do with James Marsters and I will recount it in detail in the recap of my overall experience). I used a voice recorder application for my best friend iPhone in order to capture interviews. While my phone sat in front of Colin during this session I received a text message. Which he read. Aloud. Thank heavens it wasn’t anything incriminating embarrassing.

At any rate, back to what you likely find far more interesting: what the man had to say about the show. The time travel… “we’re going to be dealing with the ramifications of the new timeline this upcoming season.”

The biggest thing that’s changed since the beginning of the series is that “it used to be a drama. The network would come down and say, no more funny. The directors they hired were vetted coming in and were told relentlessly, this is not a comedy. You get the drama right and then you put the jokes in only where they live. You don’t make a joke at the expense of a plot point…people are scared the comedy will invalidate everything else in the scene.”

Colin also threw out that he thinks “the show is really sweet…a guy today said this is the one show he can watch with his son…it’s a nice feeling that we’re part of something people can watch with their kids.”

He hated the costuming of the period episodes – wool, apparently itchy and miserable. Who knew?

We also had the chance to speak with Salli Richardson-Whitfield (who is beautiful). She’s super excited to have the chance to direct episode 15 this season. When asked about how she feels about the changes in her character due to the jump to the alternate timeline, she said “when they said it was going to stay like that, I thought that’s the most brilliant thing they could do to the show. And it gets me out of the office, now I can do something different.”

The Warehouse 13 stars that joined us were Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly, and CCH Pounder, all of whom were charming and forthcoming and pretty much exactly as they are on the show. Eddie and Joanne play sparring partners, and their camaraderie and playful relationship was apparent as they sat across from me at the table. She rolled her eyes, he charmed her with a grin. CCH sat down and Joanne complained about Eddie sitting by her. CC said, “Hey, I’ve been sitting by him for the last hour.”

They laughed a lot and obviously enjoy being a part of this cast. When asked what they best part was, they had similar comments to Colin Ferguson. Joanne cited the shows “heart and ability to connect with the audience.” Eddie chimed in that people tell him all the time how “they watch the show, their daughter and her friends in college watch the show, their twelve-year-old son watches the show. It’s nice to be able to touch that many people.”

Watch for new episodes of both shows this fall on Syfy.

For more coverage of Comic-Con 2010, click here.

Image courtesy of imdbpro.com

A Legend in his Digital Workshop: Dave Gibbons and Manga Studio Create Magic in the Digital Realm

There are a few artists whose legend is so widespread that even their tool of choice has become an integral part of their associated lore: Michael Jordan won six championships and numerous other accolades…in his highly coveted Air Jordans.   Jimi Hendrix lit up the stage, sometimes quite literally…with his trusted Fender Stratocasters.  So too, we may now be witnessing the birth of a new indelible relationship with Dave Gibbons and the new Manga Studio software from Smith Micro Graphics.

As co-creator of one of the biggest selling graphic novels of all time, Watchmen, Dave Gibbons has long established himself as a legend and innovator within the comic industry using the standard tools of the trade: paper, pen, inks and a supreme talent for storytelling. With the recent success of the Watchmen movie reintroducing Gibbons to a younger and broader audience, we sat down with him at Comic Con to discuss what lies in store for the future, and his recent move to developing comics digitally with Manga Studio software.

The  Smith Micro booth was located toward the back of the convention floor and was an easy walk from Artist Alley.  In addition to its latest products, Smith Micro had a sweet Cintiq setup for demos.

Poptimal: To start out with a broad question, what have you been working on recently, or what new projects are in the works?

Gibbons: Well, it’s strange because last year was a really big year for Watchmen, so I spent a lot of the year promoting that, and since then I’ve not really written or drawn a lot.  The next big project I hope to be working on is a thing with a writer called Mark Millar, the guy who wrote Kick-Ass.  We’ve known each other for a while, and we’ve never quite worked together before but we’re really looking forward to doing something, so that’s probably the next major thing I’m going to do.  I’m going to be doing a bit of writing as well, I mean, to be quite honest with you in the sort of year off I spent promoting Watchmen, I didn’t write or draw very much, so I’m kind of like an athlete getting back into training.  So, no scoops for you at the moment (laughs), but hopefully there’s gonna be some stuff coming out soon.

Poptimal: So, of the writing and the drawing, is there one that you prefer to do more often?  Do you prefer to be more behind the scenes with the story, or having your artwork out there?

Gibbons:  Well, it’s funny, you know, because when I was a kid and I wanted to get into comics, I didn’t know at that stage that there was someone who wrote and someone who drew it, so I always have thought of comics as just being the one thing; like, you draw the pictures to tell the story and add the words to them.  I’ve spent most of my career drawing other people’s stories, and I’ve been really lucky because I’ve worked with some wonderful writers like Alan Moore [and] Frank Miller, but I do like writing.  It’s funny; writing, because I’ve done less of it, feels more fresh to me and it’s more challenging because I haven’t learned how to do it as much as I have with the drawing…I haven’t written and drawn completely many things, I did a thing called The Originals, which was a kind of semi-autobiographical [graphic novel], and I’m really happy with the way it turned out, but I miss the collaboration…I miss having a buddy to talk it over with, you know, so I think really what I like is collaborating.  As long as I’ve got a good collaboration, and I’m like “simpatico” with the guy or girl I’m working with, that’s what I really, really enjoy.

Poptimal: Did you ever imagine that Watchmen would be visualized on the screen as well as it was? A couple years after you had done it did you ever imagine that it could look like that?

Gibbons:  Well, you know, I think when we did Watchmen which was back in the 80s, the state of special effects and everything was much less than it is [today].  I mean, you’ve only got to look at those original Superman movies, and they’re good movies, but, you know, they’re creaky.  But I think it was really lucky that the movie arrived at a point where literally in movies now if you can imagine it, you can make it look real.  And also, Watchmen the comic book came out at a time when comic books were ready to be kind of deconstructed and analyzed, and I think the movie Watchmen came out just at the point where superhero movies were ready for a bit [of] deeper treatment like that.  But certainly, no, what happened with the movie is beyond anything that I would ever have imagined, and the fact that I was involved in it to the degree I was and everybody, you know, was so respectful, and the whole of the film crew from the director to the lighting guys to everybody, their heart and soul’s completely in it, you know, I was really thrilled, yeah.  It surpassed anything that I could imagine.

Poptimal: I had a question about your process; Watchmen received a lot of critical acclaim for having a lot of visual imagery within the book, and I was wondering if that’s something you plan in advance, or if that’s something that you see organically evolve?

Gibbons: Well, it was my idea that we should use that kind of grid-panel because it’s a very complicated story, so you have to tell it quite clearly, you know, people have to know where they are and what’s going on.  So I proposed that we did the nine panel grid, and I also wanted to draw it in a way that was very straightforward [so] anybody could understand it, you know; it wasn’t like fancy or anything like that, there just wasn’t time to highly render it, so I went for that stripped down look.  So really what you do is you start off with a look that you’ve got in mind and what I did before I got any script or anything, I drew a sample page of how I thought it should look and once I got, like, the general look, then I started to see everything in that way, and Alan Moore the writer could write knowing how many pictures there would be on the page…and that helped him.  But always when you’re drawing comics, the drawing is in the service of the story, it’s only there to tell the story, not to show what a great artist you are…so my real job doing Watchmen was to keep you in the story and not let you, you know, bill away into reading the comic, and I think that’s really the way I approach the art.

Poptimal: What was the first project that you used the Manga Studio product for?

Gibbons: Well, I really got to grips with Manga Studio during that year when I really haven’t had much product out, so I’ve been doing a lot of training myself and practicing, I mean, this huge poster was drawn completely in Manga Studio.  I think what’s interesting is if you look at that, you’d never know how that was done; it looks like the stuff I would normally draw.  But certainly the project I’m going to be doing with Mark Millar, now [that] I feel I’m up to speed with Manga Studio…I’m probably going to do that completely digitally.  Also nowadays with the iPad and the iTunes, everything kind of ends up digital anyway, so you might as well use all the benefits and do it from the beginning.

Poptimal: So how long did it take for you to come up to speed with Manga Studio?

Gibbons: Well, I mean I’ve used Photoshop and stuff like that since the early 90s, but Manga Studio is unusual in that it’s specifically aimed at drawing comics, so it’s got tools, and it’s got facilities that specifically address comics.  So it really wasn’t a very difficult learning curve because I know the way by now I want things to look, and so you just pick the tool that does that…and there are other things, I mean, people who know my work know that the backgrounds are quite important; if you’ve seen Watchmen you know that the backgrounds are as crucial as what’s going on in the foreground.  Manga Studio’s got a perspective tool for instance where it will set the perspective up and every line you draw is going to be in the right perspective and that just saves hours.  That’s the stuff you never see in the finished product, you know; to draw those backgrounds in Watchmen, there’s all these guide lines just so I can draw it and make it look real, so really for any time it’s taken to get up to speed with the interface, the time I’ve saved with the tools it contains, it’s a real no-brainer.

Poptimal: Speaking of that, were there any misconceptions or reservations that you had about Manga Studio that went away once you got used to it?  There are those purists out there that refuse to use a computer.

Gibbons: I’ve always been a great fan of process and very interested in tools and always on the lookout for a tool to make it easier.  You always think, “Now, I’ve found the perfect pen nib”, you know, or you ask other artists, “What pen do you use?” because you think if you use that pen, you’ll be able to draw like them (laughs).  And of course, you can’t, but I’m always reinventing it, you know, I’ve always reinvented…so in a way, Manga Studio is another tool, and at the end of the day I challenge anybody on a blind test to tell me what I drew with a brush, what I drew with a pen, [and] what I drew with Manga Studio.  So anything that makes my job easier, I like…The only downside is that you don’t have a piece of original artwork at the end of the day that you might be able to sell for money, but it also means, you never have to scan stuff in, you never have to wrap stuff up in a FedEx box to send it off, you know.  And to me, the true art of comics is not what you’ve drawn on that piece of Bristol board, but what’s on the page, that’s what it’s all aiming towards, you know.  So, as long as you’re getting the effect that you wanted in print, that’s what’s really important.

Poptimal: So you would definitely recommend Manga Studio for not only professionals, but independent comic shops that have one or two creators?

Gibbons: Yeah, I mean, it’s like anything on the computer, it won’t do the job for you, it’s not going to draw the figures, it’s not going to make the scenes up, it is a tool…

Poptimal: It’s not going to make you’re stick figures look any better…

Gibbons: (laughs) no, no.  But, it’s funny…one of the things I really like doing on the computer using the Cintiq tablet [and] using Manga Studio is I love to do my roughs on the computer.  I used to do them on little scraps of paper; the beauty of doing it on a computer is, you’ve got much more flexibility.  You know, you can sketch it out really quickly and try to capture that little, fleeting image you’ve got to pin down before it goes.  You can pin it down, and if it isn’t quite right, on the computer you can just move it a little bit, like, I’ve made the head too big, just shrink the head down a bit, or you think that would look better if the leg was a bit longer, just stretch the leg out.  So I find doing roughs on the computer really liberating…it’s like, you can’t make a mistake; you never have to worry about screwing up.  And then at the other end of it when you’re inking, again you never have to worry about screwing up, you just draw a line freely, if it’s not quite right, undo it, do it again.  Manga Studio’s got a fantastic ability…but I do think at the basis of it, you need to be able to draw; you need to spend your time drawing.  I’m just reminded of something a friend of mine said when we were talking about learning curves for software and stuff he said “well just think how long we’ve taken to learn to use a brush, or a pen, so if you’ve got to spend a few months getting up to speed on a computer program, and you’re gonna use it every day, it’s worth it.”

Poptimal: You’ve obviously inspired many artists; do you do any sort of active mentoring programs?

Gibbons: Well it’s difficult, you know, people do say “do you need an assistant? Can I work in your studio?” and I don’t really use assistants…but I do like to teach…I do like to talk, and I’ve got lots of stuff stored up here that I’m dying to share with people.  And comics are funny because there aren’t a lot of art schools that teach comics specifically and comics is one of those things that you really learn it just by doing it; the solutions to problems, crazy little tips you learn and you hear from other people, and I feel I’ve got a lot to pass on…and at some point I really should write a book, I know I should write a book so that I can put down all of this stuff I know.  So, yeah, I would like to do more of that and hopefully in the future, I can.  And, of course, the wonder of doing stuff digitally is that you can draw it on the screen and people can see it happening on the screen in front of them, they can also see how quick you draw, how slow you draw, what order you do things in, so, yeah, I mean, who knows, we might have the Dave Gibbons Book of How to Draw Comics in Manga Studio, right?

Poptimal: Bestseller.

Dave Gibbons: (laughs), right, bestseller, obviously.

Shifting locations a short distance from our interview chairs, we entered Dave Gibbons’ Comic-Con “workshop” consisting of a computer, a Cintiq tablet, a digital pen and Manga Studio software.  We were indeed amazed to see that Manga Studio in the hands of a great artist truly produces magical results.  The software is infinitely customizable, and performs all tasks, from re-coloring of sketch lines, to the setting up of perspective lines and snapping of backgrounds to them, seamlessly and intuitively.  Dave Gibbons also demonstrated the vast libraries of pen, ink, brush and dot styles contained within Manga Studio that will satiate even the most faithful paper and ink devotee, and the library of 3D objects that will take hours off of artists’ development time.  Manga Studio performs the impressive feat of being both accessible enough for the digital neophyte to dabble and practice in, while also being robust enough for professional artists to create fully realized comic books.

Perhaps the most ringing endorsement comes from Dave Gibbons himself, “you know, this sounds like salesmanship, it might sound corny, but if I didn’t like this stuff, no money on earth would make me use it.”  Clearly a man that takes great pride and joy in his work, even to the point that he amusingly felt the need to assure us that he can draw better than the sketches on the quick demo suggested, we take Gibbons at his word.

Manga Studio Debut ($49.99) and Manga Studio EX ($299.99) are currently available from the Smith Micro Graphics website.

Watchmen is currently available on DVD and BluRay Disc and from your local comic book store.

White Collar Review: Criminology 101

Imitation is the finest form of flattery. This week, a copycat has duplicated one of Neal Caffrey’s alleged art heists and he couldn’t be more thrilled. So, in order to apprehend the thief, White Collar’s dynamic duo must head back to school.

The episode opens with Neal admiring a recent art theft. Neal enlists Mozzie to help locate the painting. Mozzie meets with Alex (Gloria Votsis), who has resurfaced and wants his help. Neal crashes their meeting and is surprised to see Alex. She admits to laying low since the plane explosion and that she heard the painting is in Dubai. Neal receives a call from Peter to return to the FBI.

It turns out that multiple copies (forgeries) of the painting have been found in different countries. Peter has seen this scam before and says, “we have a copycat on our hands.” Diana questions, “who are they copycatting?” And, with a big smile on his face, Neal answers, “me.”

An intuitive Neal examines the forgeries and concludes that someone, most likely a talented student, painted them while standing in front of the original, when it was displayed in afternoon light. The curator states it was available to the public for a pop art exhibition and provides them with a registration log, which leads Neal and Peter to an art student named Justin. After they track him down, Justin explains that he answered an online ad to create the copies of the painting. He didn’t meet who hired him but he watched her drop off his check and drew a sketch of her. An aside, while walking on campus, Peter questions why Neal never attended college but Neal dodges the question.

Meanwhile, Neal goes to his apartment and finds Mozzie and Alex arguing. Mozzie explains that someone is after her and Russell Smith, a criminal from Detroit and whose gold Krugerrands Alex agreed to fence, is going to sell her out to whoever is looking for her. Neal tells Alex, “you know I won’t let anything happen to you.” Neal is still surprised Alex went to Mozzie for help instead of him—Mozzie suggests it is because she doesn’t want to see him heartbroken over Kate but Neal believes it is because of his tracking anklet.

Diana tracked down the girl from Justin’s sketch—another student, Veronica Naylon. She is majoring in archeology but is currently acing a criminology class. According to the syllabus, the class is spending a week on Neal, which delights him. Peter and Neal decide that Veronica might have formed a crew in this class to pull off the art heist. Neal goes to the University to talk to her.

Neal humorously interrupts the criminology class, taught by Professor Oswald and entertains the class with an impromptu Q&A. Afterwards, Neal baits Oswald by telling him that he would like to be involved in their scam since he originally laid the groundwork for it. Oswald invites Neal to a bar where he meets with some students.

Back at the FBI, Peter, Diana and Neal acknowledge that Oswald is the ringleader, taking advantage of his students and will sell out them out if caught. Also, we learn that Neal is not the only one they have copied. The students are inspired by the criminals they are studying and then try to improve their cons.

At the bar, Neal performs a few tricks for the students (Veronica is one of them) including one card trick with Alex, who he introduces to Oswald. Neal privately explains to Alex he has a plan that will close this current FBI case and solve her problem with Russell.

Russell wants to move the coins on Sunday and Neal convinces Oswald and the students to steal the coins. The FBI takes Russell into custody before the “heist” goes down and instead Agent Jones is the one the students take the briefcase holding the coins from. Neal ends up with the briefcase and puts it in a locker for Oswald to later pick up. While waiting for Oswald to show up, Jones informs Peter that Russell made his one call and talked about Alex. Peter is furious with Neal that he used the FBI to help Alex. Since they’ve already waited for hours, Neal says to check the locker, which turns out to be empty as Oswald earlier removed the coins through a false back in the locker.

At Neal’s apartment, Peter requested to speak to Alex but instead meets with her lawyer, Mozzie. Neal and Mozzie reveal to Peter that someone is after Alex, most likely the same people who killed Kate, and Russell was going to deliver her to them. They decide that they need to make Oswald reveal the coins and the painting by using Russell’s connection to the Detroit mob.

With Mozzie, an “expert” on the Detroit mob in the FBI van, he assists Peter in posing as someone from the mob in hopes that Oswald will reveal the coins and painting. Peter threatens Oswald and tells him he wants three million dollars because Oswald stole his coins. The plan is successful—Oswald goes to Alex (who is helping the FBI) to sell the painting and coins. At the end of the Oswald\Alex meeting, the FBI rushes in and arrests Oswald. Due to Neal’s advice, Peter gives Alex a ticket for a flight to Italy and publicly thanked Russell for his help with the FBI. They then go to Oswald’s criminology class to arrest the three involved students.

The episode comes to a close with Peter examining the music box and a mysterious keyhole. While the music box plays, we watch Alex say goodbye to Neal. She gives him the “last piece of the music box,” a key, and kisses him goodbye.

First, let me say that the episode’s scenes of New York were exquisite. I always enjoy the New York scenery but this week they really stood out. I couldn’t help but remember my set visit when Matt Bomer described the New York scenes as White Collar’s love letter to the city.

Mozzie can do no wrong in my eyes and his assisting with this investigation especially made me laugh. Although, I was a little surprised that he would so willingly be in the FBI surveillance van helping out “the suits.” But he did seem to get a kick out of it.

Welcome back but also goodbye again to Alex. I’m somewhat melancholy about this because I like her character and was happy to see her back. I think she fits in well with the boys and I wonder how long she will stay in Italy.

So I have to admit that I’m growing more and more curious about the music box. What could be so important about it or more precisely in it?

Until next week, my fellow Collars, I’ll leave you with two of my favorite lines from this week:

Neal: I still can’t imagine you hunched over a desk with a little visor doing my taxes. You’re lucky the FBI hires mathletes.

Peter: I was not a mathlete. I was an athlete who was good at math.

Neal: Yeah, we fraternity guys called you nerds.

Peter: Oh look at you. You’d think being copycatted was like winning the crime Oscar.

Neal: What, I’m not allowed to revel?

Season 2, Episode 3: Copycat Caffrey (originally aired July 27, 2010)

For more on White Collar, click here.

Tuesdays at 9/8c on USA Network

Photographs courtesy of USA and Eric Liebowitz.

Comic-Con 2010: Childrens Hospital Panel

Childrens Hospital began as a web series on TheWB.com. Since that outlet no longer exists, the show looked for another home and found one on Adult Swim. The premise of the series is basically to poke fun at all the serious hospital dramas that have taken over both television and film in recent years. For example, the main character (played by Rob Corddry), dresses up like a clown à la Patch Adams. Instead of being funny and lovable, putting the children at ease, he often frightens them. I won a t-shirt adorned with his clown face. It is quite possibly the scariest t-shirt ever.

The show is over the top and ridiculous satire, but the cast is noteworthy and filled with comic geniuses. The actors confirmed that they do not watch nor will they ever be fans of the shows they make fun of every week. The recurring cast contains Rob Corddry, Lake Bell, Ken Marino, Rob Huebel, Megan Mullally, Erinn Hayes, Ed Helms, and the voice of Michael Cera.

The Childrens Hospital panel at Comic-Con was packed with the entire cast and a room full of fans who not only love a good laugh, but appreciate being in the presence of talented comics. The cast entered the room at a run, sprinting around and giving out high-fives. We settled in to watch the first Adult Swim produced episode, which had me rolling my eyes and chuckling at about even intervals. Then again, I’m not so big on this kind of humor. Still, I found more than one reason to laugh.

Actors teasing one another never fails, though, and many of the cast members spent a good amount of time teasing Rob Corddry over his role in Hot Tub Time Machine. At one point, Lake Bell asked him, “how it felt to be part of a motion picture that single-handedly brought down a major studio.” They were lively and one of the more entertaining panels I sat through during my four days in San Diego.

They ended the session with another video, promising hilarious outtakes from the set. Instead we gaped at a five minute long video that included nothing but up close, in your face birthing scenes. Yup. Regular birth. C-Section births. Up close. Blood. Fluid.

So it’s safe to say, if your going to tune in for this one you’d better have a strong stomach.

Childrens Hospital airs Sunday at 10:30pm ET/PT on Adult Swim.

Photo courtesy Bilal Mian and Poptimal.com

Project Runway Interview: Tim Gunn Continues Making it Work

Having mentors on reality shows is nothing new – we’re all familiar with American Idol’s celebrity mentors who are there for no other reason than to show their pretty face and publicize their latest album.

Enter Tim Gunn.

When Gunn first began working with Project Runway during season one, he was an Associate Dean at Parsons The New School for Design in New York City. He was already a mentor for hundreds of students, so when it came to appearing on television, he had nothing to promote. Gunn was –and is still there – for the sole benefit of the designers.

Now in its eighth season, Project Runway is changing the way it does some things. For the first time in the show’s history, there will be 17 contestants instead of 16. The show has also been lengthened to a full 90 minutes. It’s definitely a bit of a gamble; is there enough interesting footage to fill up the time without losing the audience’s attention?

According to Gunn, there’s more than enough!

“When I reflect upon season seven, we barely see the Q&A between the judges and the designers,” he says. “We barely hear anything out of the deliberation. You get a sound bite, when in fact the Q&A and the deliberation go on anywhere from four to six hours.”

And of course, a 90 minute episode also means more Tim Gunn! Gunn spends more time in the workroom mentoring and supporting the designers than is actually shown on TV. “You would think that I check in with four designers, sometimes only three, when, in fact, I’m giving equal time to everybody,” he explains.

Not only will viewers have the chance to see Gunn interacting more with the contestants this season, but Gunn also revealed he’ll be getting his own “beat” – that’s fancy talk for a one-on-one camera interview.

“I’m my candid, honest, truth-telling self and that means I don’t know much of what they’re actually going to put in the show!” he dished. Why has it taken them eight seasons to introduce this?!

If there’s anyone who has a better understanding of the contestants on the show, it’s Gunn. And while he was very mum on details about this season’s crop of designers, Gunn did air his grievances (already!) about one contestant who takes it upon themselves to critique the other designers after Gunn has already done his rounds in the workroom. The nerve!

While there were no specifics about individual designers, as a whole Gunn described the group as “fragile” and admitted he became very fond of them. Gunn’s relationship with the designers sometimes continues even after the show has wrapped. “I’m very careful not to force myself upon anyone, but the designers do get back in touch with me either about professional advice or they just want to have a cup of coffee or glass of wine, and I’m thrilled to see them,” he says.

So what three words would Gunn use to describe this season? Hot – “because New York has never been hotter, and we’ve spent a lot of time outdoors.” Emotional – “It has to do with how hard everyone’s working and how – I’m welling up right now – how lovely everyone is. And lastly, frustrating – “it goes back to the judging.” Ohhhhh, drama during judging? This season already has plenty of potential!

The new season of Project Runway begins Thursday, July 29 at 9 pm (EST) on Lifetime.

Comic-Con 2010: Family Guy & The Cleveland Show: More Reasons To Find Steady Voiceover Work

While members from all four shows on FOX’s Animation Domination Sunday night lineup made appearances at this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego last weekend, representatives from two Seth MacFarlane-created series engaged in a simultaneous panel and subsequent press conference on Saturday afternoon to discuss their respective upcoming seasons and projects. Fans of both Family Guy and The Cleveland Show filled Ballroom 20 in the San Diego Convention Center to capacity with eager anticipation, and the talent did not disappoint. As reported on Poptimal earlier this week, Family Guy’s creative team unveiled a nine-minute clip of their latest Star Wars spoof, a parody of Return of the Jedi, called “It’s a Trap,” and the cast of The Cleveland Show engaged in an exclusive live table read of an episode in which Cleveland attends Comic-Con. Perhaps the biggest Cleveland Show revelation, however, is that Sanaa Lathan’s character, Donna, had starred in a 70s blaxploitation film called Hot Cocoa Bang Bang, her participation in which comes back to haunt her in an upcoming Season 2 installment.

In the dizzying post-panel press room, I asked seasoned film and television actress Lathan (Alien vs. Predator, Nip/Tuck) how she would respond to the possibility of making a live action adaptation of Hot Cocoa Bang Bang, starring herself in the title role – after all, the fictional film’s poster art revealed at the panel made the idea seem quite feasible. “It was slammin’!” Lathan agreed with a laugh, saying she’d be more than up for it if the opportunity properly presented itself, but quickly issued a disclaimer many an entertainment news reporter has heard before: “You’ll have to ask the producers about that.”

Kevin Michael Richardson, who voices spontaneously pudgy offspring Cleveland Jr., was excited to participate in a Comic-Con panel, especially to promote his role on a show with characters already familiar to its audience. “The panel for The Cleveland Show and Family Guy was huge,” he exclaimed. “I mean, it was packed. That was nice, it was like a rock concert in there … that juiced us up really nicely.” As the brand new voice for a character who had been known under different physical pretenses on Family Guy prior to the premiere of spin-off The Cleveland Show, Richardson expressed gratitude for being part of a unique array of animated sitcoms with a reliably loyal audience. “It’s been a real jazz for us,” he said, referring to The Cleveland Show’s enviable, albeit fitting, comfy time slot as Family Guy‘s lead-in. “Three prime-time [Fuzzy Door] shows, animated, back to back, on the same night? That’s pretty awesome. And to be part of that, I must tell you, is an honor, especially as a series regular on one of those shows.  So, it’s very cool.”

Both Richardson and Lathan expressed gratitude for the convenience of having a regular voiceover gig that provides a more relaxed environment and an easier opportunity to multi-task than on-set, live action television work does. Lathan appreciates being able to “roll out of bed and show up [at work] in my sweats,” while Richardson joked about the decreased urgency for proper personal hygiene – or so he’s heard. “Some people say they don’t bathe or anything,” he said, quickly adding, “I do, just to put it out there,” he laughed.

Family Guy’s remarkably tolerant matriarch, Lois Griffin, has a voice nearly as recognizable as another famous animated wife light years out of her husband’s league. The former’s trademark nasal delivery is courtesy of Alex Borstein (who also wrote for and co-produced Family Guy until 2008), who had plenty to say about what the “It’s a Trap” Jedi spoof means for the future of Family Guy parodies — particularly regarding another beloved Lucasfilm anthology. When asked if she thinks Family Guy would ever tackle the Indiana Jones films, her response was a near-resounding yes. “He’s just smart. He’s a smart man,” she began, referring to George Lucas himself. “He gets that Seth [MacFarlane] is a true, true fan [of his films] … He gets that it’s an homage and out of respect … I think that we are totally open to doing Indiana Jones.” However, she added, there are tedious stumbling blocks to consider. “It’s also just a question of scheduling and planning, because those [movie spoofs] are longer episodes. They involve DVD releases that go along with it,” she said, continuing, “our [Family Guy] shows take nine months to make, each show, so it’s a year. It’s like birthing a baby, every show… [The thing to] figure out, is there an audience [for Indiana Jones] that’s as rabid as the Family Guy audience was for Star Wars … I think so.”

In addition to managing the logistics of scheduling time for such an ordeal, Borstein also wants to make sure the same care would be given to the next project that was given to the process of faithfully adapting Star Wars with a Family Guy flair. “The neat thing about Star Wars is that the animation directors on our show were able to capture special effects in animation. Somehow, explosions and space flight looks like it’s still a special effect but it’s all animated. I don’t know how they did it,” she said. “When we watch it, we’re just fascinated when we see an explosion. It’s incredible. So I know that would be [crucial]. What is there about Indiana Jones that we could do special, like that? What makes it worth doing, and not just that we’re ripping something off. There should be an extra special layer to it.”

Borstein rounded out her interview on a similar note that both Lathan and Richardson did, singing the praises of the niche she’s created for herself in the entertainment industry, and how fortunate she knows she is to be living her dream. “I always say that I’m like the luckiest woman in baseball,” she joked, adding, “It’s the greatest job on the planet … I learned more about writing and about comedy working on Family Guy than in the five years I worked on MADtv. This was like boot camp, and my comedy muscles were toned beyond belief. It’s a really good training ground. It’s like that Christina Aguilera song, ‘thanks for making me a fighter,’” she laughed. “I feel like I could win any fight now.”

Watch the special 1 hour-long episode of Family Guy on Sunday, September 26 at 9 pm (EST) on FOX.

Watch the season premiere of The Cleveland Show on Sunday, September 26, at 8:30 pm (EST) on FOX.

For more coverage of Comic-Con 2010, click here.

Images courtesy of FOX and imdbpro.

Comic Con 2010: Sanaa Latham was interviewed by Poptimal.com (Fox's The Clevland Show) Comic Con 2010: Sanaa Latham was interviewed by Poptimal.com (Fox's The Clevland Show)	Comic Con 2010: Sanaa Latham Interview (Fox's The Cleveland Show) Comic Con 2010: Sanaa Latham Interview (Fox's The Cleveland Show)	Comic Con 2010: Alex Borstein (Fox's Family Guy & The Clevland Show) Comic Con 2010: Alex Borstein (Fox's Family Guy & The Clevland Show)
Comic Con 2010: Seth McFarlane chucking it up with us at Poptimal.com (Fox's Family Guy & The Cleveland Show) Comic Con 2010: Seth McFarlane chucking it up with us at Poptimal.com (Fox's Family Guy & The Cleveland Show)	Comic Con 2010: Kevin Michael Richards in The Clevland Show Press Room Comic Con 2010: Kevin Michael Richards in The Clevland Show Press Room	Comic Con 2010: Seth and Kevin at Fox's The Cleveland Show Panel Comic Con 2010: Seth and Kevin at Fox's The Cleveland Show Panel

Comic-Con 2010: Merlin Panel – The Buffy Fame Holds

The powers that be at Comic-Con scheduled the Merlin panel for the final afternoon. It followed the packed Castle panel, which I will fill you in on later. The majority of the crowd filed out in a Nathan Fillion induced haze, but I have to say – those folks missed out on a great, entertaining panel that made someone like me (ie: a person who has never seen an episode of Merlin) want to watch the show.

In doing research ahead of time, I’d discovered that Anthony Head is part of the cast. As part of a group of certain-aged people I like to refer to as the “WB generation,” this meant something to me. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. Yes, that’s right. For those of you who are more than five years younger or older than me, Anthony Head played the role of Giles, Buffy’s watcher, on the hit Joss Whedon show that ran on The WB from 1997 until 2003. At any rate, I felt excitement at seeing him in person and let me tell you, he has a fabulous sense of humor. Anthony Head spent the majority of the panel wiping his eyes and trying to stifle laughter.

The rest of the panel included the young Irish actor who plays Merlin, Colin Morgan, as well as producers/writers Johnny Capps and Julian Jones. For those (like me) who are not in the know, this show airs on the BBC in England and the SyFy channel in the U.S. and follows the adventures of the legendary sorcerer Merlin as a young man first encountering Camelot and exploring his powers.

We watched a trailer with snippets from the upcoming season, and I have to say, I think it’s a brilliant idea. The next season, season 3, will follow the characters as they go into battle to find the mysterious and devilish Morgana (played by Katie McGrath). Merlin is beginning to come into his powers and understand the potential of his place in Camelot – in a sense, he’s growing up. It looks fantastic.

My favorite part of the panel was a lengthy outtake reel featuring all the members of the cast, though Bradley James, who plays young Arthur, seems to be the most accident prone of the bunch. Anthony Head spent a good five minutes giggling and wiping his eyes after it was over. His genuine enjoyment in being at Comic-Con, working on the show, and spending time with the actors and creators of the show is apparent. It’s nice to see someone who has been in the business for so long who so obviously still loves what he does.

The panel took audience questions regarding the way they’ve twisted the legend of Merlin, and responded that there is so much literature out there and much of it conflicts. They’ve chosen to use the bits that best fit the story of his life they want to tell. The question that got the most laughs was, “What’s the biggest difference between filming in the UK and filming in America?”

The response? “Craft services.” Craft services is the food and beverage offerings on set. According to the panel, in the UK they get biscuits. In the US, it’s like an all day buffet.

Coming to Comic-Con garnered the desired results for a young, BBC show like Merlin -  at least it worked on me. I’d like to see the show. I’ve already gone online looking for earlier episodes. The clips and teasers they brought intrigued the history/legend buff in me, and the panel members and outtake reel made the cast into real people I want to go out and support.

That’s the reason the studios send their shows, casts, and producers to Comic-Con. To connect with existing fans. To win over new fans. The Merlin panel stood out as an example of how to do it well.

For more Poptimal coverage of Comic-Con 2010, click here.

Photos courtesy of Poptimal.com

My Life on the D-List Review: All About Tom

I’ll just say it right now: this week’s episode of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List was an odd one. The episode began with a series of seemingly random, unrelated storylines followed by the sudden death of Kathy’s favorite dog and then the revelation that Kathy’s assistant, Tom, was experiencing bizarre Ambien-induced eating binges. This was mostly played for humor, but was almost too real for a reality show that rarely dishes out real life drama. And it’s not that the show’s producers shouldn’t show us things like this when they happen, but maybe cutting them alongside Kathy’s quest to buy new furniture wasn’t the best decision.

In a nutshell, this week’s episode was made up of three distinct storylines with the most interesting being that of Tom’s bizarre nocturnal habits. Unbeknownst to us, Tom apparently has a really stressful gig with Kathy and has turned to relying on sleeping pills to rest at night in addition to ripping out his eyebrows as a stress reliever. Well, it turns out that while on his Ambien high/sleep Tom has been eating enormous amounts of food and speaking gibberish in the middle of the night with no recollection of it in the morning. Naturally, Kathy wants to document the oddity and sets up some Paranormal Activity-esque cameras in the house to capture the bizarre affliction in action.

And even though Kathy enjoys mocking Tom’s “pounding” of food in the middle of the night, she is also concerned for him and good-naturedly brings in a psychologist to get to the bottom of his issues. We come to learn that Tom was once a 17-year veteran waiter at T.G.I. Friday’s and perhaps the switch to being the tour manager for a D-list comedienne was more stress than he was ready for. So to bring back the stress-free days of T.G.I. Friday’s fun, Kathy and her other assistant Tiffany hold a “flair-a-thon” party for Tom with other Friday’s employees in attendance. Even sitcom star Brad Garrett (also a former Friday’s server) showed up to participate and help Tom relieve some stress in a way that doesn’t include yanking his eyebrows out. Here’s hoping it works for the poor guy!

The second major component of this episode was the quest to finally finish remodeling Kathy’s house. We know that she started this venture virtually blind and has since relied heavily on her friend Lara Spencer to conceive the design and execution of it. Together they agree to go for a Palm Springs Gay motif and take a drive to Palm Springs to see what other homeowners have done. One house in particular looked more like a sex museum, but to each his own!

After a major crash and burn experience at a spendy furniture store, Kathy realizes that she is incapable of making the necessary decisions and tells Lara to just finish it herself, which she does with relish and the result is really impressive. The surprise reveal for Kathy and Maggie was great to watch, but I just wish they’d taken a few notes from some HGTV shows and used the same camera angles for the Before and After shots. But that’s just me being a nit-picky bitch.

Finally, and most poignantly, this episode featured the death of Kathy’s lovable dog Chance. The passing came straight out of left-field (as these things sadly so often do) and to hear Kathy break down while talking about it was particularly tough to watch. It was even more heart-breaking to know that her other dog, PomPom, was mourning the death of Chance, which prompted Kathy to bring in a dog trainer to help prepare PomPom for the arrival of a new dog to provide companionship for both her and Kathy.

Kathy opts to choose from three adorable shelter dogs and picks a super cute lab named Larry, who I must agree has the most precious face and would be hard not to choose if I had to make the same decision. As you can probably tell, this was an emotional roller coaster of an episode but I’m thinking they just had to cram a bunch of stuff in though because next week is already the season finale – so tune in and hopefully laugh your ass off.

Other random funny moments from the episode:

• In reference to her very busy schedule lately, Kathy says, “I feel like a toothless hooker on her last leg.”
• Tom wears a sweet and dainty pair of mint green gloves during his binge eating.
• The dog trainer comments that PomPom isn’t ready to have her butt sniffed yet and Tiffany replies with, “Neither am I.”
• While in the sex museum house in Palm Springs, Kathy suggests that giant piece of photography of a naked penis should go in Maggie’s room.
• When the remodel of Kathy’s house is revealed, Maggie immediately starts picking things up to look for price tags.

Season 6, Episode 7: Getting My House in Order (originally aired on July 27, 2010)

For more on Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, click here.

Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo

Photographs courtesy of Bravo and IMDb Pro.

Win a Suave “White Collar” Gift Bag

Poptimal.com and USA Network are excited to offer two lucky readers a White Collar gift bag! Read on to find out how you can become eligible for these goodies.

USA Network kicks off your Tuesday evening with the best looking night on television! Watch the return of White Collar at 9pm. One of the fall season’s most critically acclaimed dramas, stars Matt Bomer , Tim DeKay, Tiffani Thiessen, Willie Garson, Sharif Atkins and Marsha Thomason.  Visit the official White Collar website for games, photos and weekly prizes. Visit USA Network’s Character Arcade to play games, challenge friends and for more chances to win prizes!

The gift bag includes:

–Modern Gentleman’s Guide
–White Collar Hat
–White Collar T-Shirt
–White Collar Season 1 DVD

Here’s How To Win (No Purchase Necessary)
1. Post your comments about at least one (1) of our front page articles (You will get 1 entry for every comment)

2. Email your name, email address and name of the post you commented on to contests@poptimal.com. Put “White Collar” in the subject line.

Guidelines
-Open to residents of the U.S. and Canada
-Entrants must be at least 18 yrs of age
-This prize pack is valued at $112 and is provided by USA Network
-Contest ends on August 6, 2010

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