Media Hijinks - Sad Losses and Potentially Happy Gains

The biggest news in the industry this week is, by far, the death of much-beloved director/actor/writer, Harold Ramis. But even before people have begun to mourn, that news, naturally, has to provoke other sorts of news. The kind of news we’d rather not have to hear about. The first being the hate that actor Bill Murray has recently attracted regarding the brief statement he gave concerning Ramis’ death. This is what Murray had to say:

“Harold Ramis and I together did the National Lampoon Show off Broadway, Meatballs, Stripes, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day. He earned his keep on this planet. God bless him.”

People are up-in-arms that Murray didn’t say something more or that he didn’t go into more detail or whatever it is that insane people think about. Give the man some room to grieve already! Fans want him to write a novel of epic sadness proportions, but it was not even 24 hours later when that statement was issued. And, personally, I find those few short words to be more than telling of Murray’s grief.

The other idiotic thing that was inevitable was an update on Ghostbusters 3. The studios had to come out and reassure people that the movie is moving ahead without Ramis. Of course, it’s moving ahead without Murray as well. People barely wanted to watch it without Murray, so now they want to reassure us that it’s still going minus the two best cast members? And that one of those not involved is a brilliant writer that could have perhaps made it funny? Sigh… 

Second (third?) up is a bit of tired news, but news I am none-the-less pleased to hear. Karl Urban was at a Star Trek event in Frankfurt recently and he got asked the inevitable question about whether a Dredd sequel was going to happen or not. He didn’t say yes, but he did mention that the writer and director are in talks with the studio. So at least there’s a small possibility? Please? For me?

Next, an interesting bit of news for Doctor Who fans. It looks like Steven Moffat is bringing another male half of the companion equation into the T.A.R.D.I.S. this season. Actor Samuel Anderson has been signed to play the second companion. I’m not really sure who this guy is, but my biggest concern doesn’t revolve around him so much as whether or not Peter Capaldi will get the spotlight. Being that he is the new Doctor and all. I guess we shall have to wait and see how it all works out.

And finally, some good news for fans of that old and cancelled show known as Heroes. It looks like the show will be coming back next year. Not in the full seasonal capacity, but NBC plans to run a 13-episode miniseries called Heroes: Reborn. It will feature a new cast with new powers and will follow a new story. Some of the original characters are likely to show up in cameos, but the focus will be entirely new. Which is fine by me. The previous incarnation, which I really did love, kinda fell apart slowly due to some overly-complicated writing that left people pulling their hair out with contradiction. Maybe this time they’ll be smart enough to leave time travel out of it so that doesn’t happen again.

Until next week, reach into storage to retrieve that well-aged 80s Ghostbusters t-shirt that you know you own and wear it with pride. 

Photo Credits -

Ramis and Murray courtesy of designtrend.com