It’s been almost a week since I saw Guardians of the Galaxy and I’m still singing its praises to anyone who will listen. I haven’t yet seen it again in the theater, but that’s probably going to happen in the next few weeks. I’m just so happy to be excited about a movie again. It’s been way too long since that happened. My Groot bobblehead has arrived and has take an place of honor in the bobblehead army:
Even my student assistant, who has not yet seen the movie, agreed that Groot was pretty adorable. And it appears that my promptness paid off as my friend alerted me that this boblehead has doubled in price in the last week! The Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack is still on pretty heavy rotation as well; I’ll tire of all things GOTG soon enough, but right now I’m just having fun with it. I assure you that if I could have pre-ordered the movie on Blu-Ray I would have already done so already.
But it turns out that there is more to life than just Guardians of the Galaxy – though if you haven’t done so, go see it! – as this week’s roundup of pop culture stories demonstrates. Even though all the excitement of Comic Con and the Television Critics Association is over, there is still plenty going on in the world of pop culture. Everyone in my office may be taking vacation , but there is no rest for a pop culture aficionado. Get yourself caught up with a quick rundown of the last week in pop.
- Dave Grohl announced the debut of Sonic Highways on HBO.
- The Foo Fighters are teasing some sort of big announcement on Monday:
- The stars of The Big Bang Theory have secured a big raise after a minor delay in production. Now that the last two cast members have deals, production will resume this week.
- Paul Feig may direct an all female Ghostbusters reboot. Feig continues to be the only person in Hollywood who thinks women are funny.
- Will Ferrell may play Russ Meyer.
- CBS has allegedly selected Craig Ferguson’s replacement.
- John Carroll Lynch is headed to American Horror Story: Freak Show.
- I’m still 100% against a remake of The Raid, but now that Taylor Kitsch is possibly attached I’ll probably have to see it.
- Netflix boss Ted Sarandos said that more episodes of Arrested Development are “just a matter of when.”
- Whoa – James Brown, Weird Al Yankovic and Little Richard played Wheel of Fortune together.
- If the Illuminati exist, Katy Perry wants in.
- Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn discusses how he picked the music used in the movie.
- David Simon (creator of The Wire) is retuning to HBO with a six hour miniseries on race, poverty and bureaucracy.
- Here’s a handy video that explains all the Easter Eggs hidden in Marvel movies (up to Winter Soldier).
- George R.R. Martin will re-release his children’s book, which raises the question – Martin wrote a children’s book?
- David Zayas (Batista, Dexter) will play a villain on Gotham.
- Brooklyn Decker and Ethan Embry have joined Netflix’s Grace & Frankie.
- Helen Mirren twerked with Michael Strahan:
- Bill Murray will voice Baloo in The Jungle Book reboot.
- Sony plans to do a female superhero movie in 2017, drawn from the Spider-man universe.
- Sony also plans to focus on the villains with Venom Carnage.
- Captain America 3 will be set “a couple of years” after the events of Winter Soldier.
- Here’s a deleted scene from Captain America: Winter Soldier.
- The actor that played Slim Charles on The Wire was beaten and stabbed in a DC nightclub.
- A guy recreated Springfield from The Simpsons out of LEGOs.
- If you are a fan of Taco’s songs on The League, you can now download them on iTunes.
- TBS is developing a comedy with the team behind Super Troopers.
- Conan O’Brien will sing “The Monorail Song” at The Simpsons live event in September.
- Conan had the cast of Orange is the New Black on his talkshow; here’s the cold open:
- Ricky Gervais is making a David Brent mockumentary.
- Jim Rash wants Community to do a Game of Thrones themed episode. I’m all in favor!
- Could Vince Vaughn be in the new season of True Detective? That would be so money, baby. (Full disclosure – I am an unabashed Vaughn fan).
- Elisabeth Moss is also rumored to be in talks for True Detective, which also makes me very happy.
- Here’s some info on the Scream TV series.
- The always enjoyable Chris Pratt tells Seth Meyers about the time he flashed his Parks and Recreation co-stars.
- Chris Pratt is slowly taking over the Internet; here he is rapping on a morning radio show:
- NBC has renewed Welcome to Sweden for a second season.
- Jennifer Lee, director of Frozen, to adapt A Wrinkle in Time.
- Rihanna joined Eminem on stage at Lollapalooza.
- Harry Shum Jr. (Glee) has joined the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel.
- Glee is adding a bunch of new characters for its final season.
- Jason Statham was a diver in a previous life; here’s footage of him competing in the Commonwealth Games (aka – the poor man’s Olympics). It’s weird to see him with hair!
- Random House will publish a collection of lost Dr. Seuss stories.
- I love to hate on Taylor Swift, but I have to give her credit when she does something really nice.
- John Stamos has joined the cast of ABC’s Galavant.
- Y’all ready to feel ANCIENT? Adam Duritz, is on the cover of AARP magazine:
- You can still find fake blood from Breaking Bad filming in Albuquerque.
- The Pulitzer Prize winning book Goldfinch will get a movie adaptation.
- An alternate ending to The Amazing Spider-Man 2 illustrates that the film could have been much worse.
- Nickelodeon is making a School of Rock TV show.
- Based on the ring that Chad Kroeger bought wife Avril Lavigne for their anniversary, being in Nickleback at least pays well.
- Sandra Bullock is Hollywood’s highest paid actress.
- SyFy plans to turn Old Man’s War into a series.
- I enjoy his movies, but there is no way that I’ll help fund Rob Zombie’s killer clown movie. For real – are killer clowns becoming a thing now? Because I’m going to have to up my Xanax dosage.
- Christina Aguilera is now part of the proud tradition of pregnant celebrities posing nude on magazine covers.
- In an interview with The Guardian, Christina Hendricks reveals her agency dropped her for taking the role of Joan on Mad Men. Not smart.
- Jeff Bridges channeled “The Dude” when he threw out the first pitch at a Dodgers game:
- This week in pop culture real estate: The Neverland Ranch is about to hit the market.
- Now that Guardians of the Galaxy is a runaway hit, Marvel is digging even deeper into their archives. Get ready for…..Squirrel Girl.
- Disney has launched an online series with The Muppets.
- Elijah Wood reveals what he kept from the set of Wilfred.
- Kickstarter of the week: This guy wants Kenny Loggins to play his living room,
- Chris Jericho did a Reddit AMA. So did Sean Bean.
- An actress whose role was recast on Game of Thrones had a pretty great reaction:
- Obviously trying to cash in on that sweet Sharknado money, Tara Reid had released a new perfume – Shark by Tara. I’m guessing she didn’t watch her own movie, since they made a pretty big deal out of how terrible sharks smell.
- I, like the rest of the civilized world, watched Sharknado 2; here are all the cameos of note.
- Bob Odenkirk is releasing a comedy album and going out on tour.
- Cheryl Hines married Robert Kennedy, Jr. Yup – those Kennedys.
- Benedict Cumberbatch has a solid Jar Jar Binks impression (1:50 mark).
- The Kimye marriage has officially lasted longer than her wedded bliss with Kris Humphries. Mazel Tov.
- No one is insinuating anything untoward, but holy hell this kid looks exactly like Jay Z:
- Speaking of Hova….a guy had his finger bitten off at the Jay & Bey’s On the Run tour stop in LA.
- Beyonce and Nicki Minaj collaborated on a remix of “Flawless” that has sparked further speculation of the state of the Carter marriage:
- Kendrick Lamar has made a short film inspired by his album good kid, m.A.A.d city.
- The prequel to Snow White and the Huntsman will be released in April 2016.
- This infographic breaks down the lifespan of each Doctor (based on screen time)on Doctor Who.
- Mischa Barton is facing foreclosure on her Beverly Hills home. Further proof that Marissa Cooper is the worst.
- Ryan Reynolds has joined Kevin Costner’s CIA thriller Criminal.
- Comedy Central has set its fall schedule.
- The network is developing a magic-based variety show.
- Vanilla Ice is not particularly impressed with the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song.
Time for some new trailers
- A live action/animated Spongebob Squarepants movie:
- A look at the new season of Total Divas on E!:
- Here’s a trailer for the documentary Mudbloods, about real-life quidditch teams:
- See Jon Snow with short hair in the trailer for Testament of Youth:
- Kate Beckinsale, Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley in Stonehearst Asylum:
- The first trailer for Disney’s Into The Woods:
- A final trailer for The Expendables 3:
- Michael Keaton in Birdman:
- Night at the Museum 3:
- Pierce Brosnan in The November Man:
- Kingdom First, an original series on DirecTV:
- A trailer for the new Netflix series, BoJack Horseman:
- A documentary about the man who inspired the movie Dog Day Afternoon:
- TV Land has cancelled Kirstie, starring Kirstie Allen, Rhea Pearlman and Michael Richards.
- I think perhaps the greatest part of this whole Justin Bieber and Orlando Bloom altercation is Leonardo DiCaprio’s alleged reaction.
- Kid Rock is none too pleased to have been dragged into a sexual harassment case against the Insane Clown Posse filed by a publicist.
- Tumblr of the week: Beyoncify My Boyfriend.
- Spike Jonze will guest star on Girls.
- Watch Vin Diesel sing “Stay With Me.”
- Someone did not take kindly to the Washington Post smearing Fred Flintstone’s good name in a story about Ray Rice.
- Cartman almost had a sister and a father on South Park.
- Ellen Pompeo (Grey’s Anatomy) is developing a satrical show for ABC Family.
- Blake Shelton announced a new album.
- Peter MacNichol has joined the cast of the newest CSI spinoff.
- Vulture looks at 38 soundtracks that have hit #1.
- A poster for the upcoming Tarantino movie:
- Rob McElhenny (Mac, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) will appear on The Mindy Project.
- Carol Burnett, Alan Alda and Anjelica Huston are headed to Broadway.
- Legendary Hollywood make-up artist Dick Smith passed away at 92.
- The film adaption of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has added to its cast.
- Janeane Garofalo has departed Bravo’s Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce. She’ll only appear in the first half of the season.
- Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass has started principal photography. Tim Burton will produce, but not direct.
- The good people at EconPop look at the economics of The LEGO Movie:
- Priceonomics examines the business of fake Hollywood money.
- Kathie Lee Gifford has written a Today show musical.
- Broadway is getting its first African American Cinderella.
- The Scrabble dictionary added a bunch of new words, including Selfie and Hashtag.
- The former home of Johnny Cash may be turned into a rehab facility.
- I guess if Jeff Goldblum is a guest at your wedding, you kind of have to do the Jurassic Park themed wedding photo:
- NBC has renewed Undatable.
- Rosewater, Jon Stewart’s directorial debut, will be released November 7th.
- Former American Idol contestant Michael Johns passed away; he was 35.
- Marilyn Burns, who starred in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, has died.
As always, we end with the mashups and supercuts
- A musical with Doctor Who and Sherlock:
- There is an art exhibit opening LA that reimagines pop culture as Little Golden Books:
- A supercut of Tom Haverford’s business ideas on Parks and Recreation:
- Of course, I dug this Shel Silverstein inspired Guardians of the Galaxy fan art:
- I’ve enjoyed these while they lasted, but this is the final Saturday Morning Slow Jam – the original My Little Pony theme:
- Here’s a trailer for Harry Potter done in the style of Scott Pilgrim:
- And finally….President Obama sings “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea:
As Heather's World Turns 