Welcome to The Morning Read.

Well, I was supposed to do an interview this morning by phone, but apparently I've dropped off the "to do" list, so instead, let's jump right in and see what's going on all over the internets this morning.

Kim Voynar published an excellent piece about the notion of "truth" in the non-fiction film.  I've never heard of anything like what happened with the situation around "Bananas!" at the LA Film Festival.  Crazy.

I was fascinated to see Sacha Baron Cohen on Letterman last night, out of character.  It's a very rare thing, like seeing Bigfoot doing a talk show, and even though it's just a clip, it's worth following that link to see him talk about how he shot the segment of "Bruno" involving the interview with the terrorist.

It makes me sad when former cast members of "Saturday Night Live" go hopelessly barking mad.  It makes me even sadder when they write revealing columns about just how crazy they are and they don't seem to realize they've even pooped themselves in public.

JJ Abrams is a tech nerd.  I love it.

And check it out... I think Jackie Earle Haley is starting to transform into a nerd as well.  Cool!

Oh, I see how this is going to be, Esquire.  You're going to use my shameless love of Mary Louise Parker to bait me into visiting your website and embedding your videos, aren't you?

[more after the jump]

 

Sounds good to me.  I'd just like to point out that "Alice In Wonderland" and lovely ladies is a combination that seems to always be in style.  Just ask Sasha Grey.

Mike Sampson of JoBlo.com always struck me as a good egg.  Too bad he's dead now.

How did I know Tommy Chong would somehow bring talk of Michael Jackson back around to talk of weed?

Okay... this is just plain freaky:

 

 

I get the point of that billboard, but if it's raining and I drive by a billboard and it's suddenly CRYING BLOOD, I'm driving off the road.  End of story.  That's end-of-days type shit, isn't it?

I love Walter Murch.

And it looks like someone else loves Tony Scott.

Ralph Bakshi and Don Bluth couldn't be much more different as filmmakers, but they both managed to make a stand as independent animation producers, something that's next to impossible.  As a result, this discussion with the two of them, originally taped in 1982, is a fascinating look at just how difficult it is to work in animation if your name isn't "Disney."  Hats off to Cartoon Brew for finding this one.

Want to read an amazing Joe Dante interview?  I don't blame you.  Part one is here, and part two is here.  Pop some popcorn or something... the read is that good.

I am frequently gobsmacked at just how amazing video games have become recently.

 

 

That doesn't even look like a game.  That's virtual war reality at this point.

The remaining members of Monty Python could announce they were getting together to punch orphans in the face, and I'd still think it sounded like a good idea.  So a 'Life Of Brian' musical?  Better than punching orphans!

Anything I read about "Lost" right now makes me get all sweaty.  I better not have any accidents between now and next May.  After that, all bets are off, of course.

I'm glad Marvel is leaning on Zak Penn as a resource for building out their inter-related franchise worlds.  And I'm even more glad Zak's feeling chatty these days.

I'd like to hug the entire cast of Edgar Wright's "Scott Pilgrim."  Look at them in this latest video blog:

 

Blog 9 - Home Sweet Home(s) - Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World from Scott Pilgrim The Movie on Vimeo.

 

Still not convinced?  Try this one:

 

Bonus Blog - Watching the blogs - Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World from Scott Pilgrim The Movie on Vimeo.

 

What?  Still not?  Well, then, you may be in the wrong place.  "Scott Pilgrim" gets much love in this dojo.

I love that James Franco has become such a goofball in the last few years.  I remember when he was too serious, like he was trying to be the next James Dean.  Now that he's finally unleashed his personality, he's so much more engaging:

 

 

I'm sure every single UCLA student who pissed and moaned about Franco giving the speech is sorry now.

Curious about "Ghostbusters 3"?  So is Harold Ramis.

 

 

I still think they're flirting with disaster.  None of those "20 years later" sequels are satisfying, and more than anything, you risk burning down the remaining fanbase.  You think anyone's reeeeeally interested in that "Indy 5" these days?

Finally, I saw mention on some website that there are further noises about making a "Mortal Kombat 3."  I see a lot of misinformation out there about the film, and some of it is as basic as people still thinking New Line is involved in the franchise.  The truth is that Threshhold Entertainment are the producers of any future "Mortal Kombat" film.  That's who I worked for back in 2001/2002 when I wrote several drafts of the film.  I have heard that they're meeting with directors again, trying to find someone to helm "Mortal Kombat: Krusades" in 3D.  I have no idea if it will or won't happen, but it looks like someone's already making plans to shoot in September.  If it does happen, I'm sure I'll have some fascinating updates to share with you.  Until then, it's the same old talk we've been hearing for almost ten years.

The Morning Read appears here every day, Monday through Friday.  Except when it doesn't.

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