The End Of The Iceman?

I wasn't able to see tonight's UFC show so this expert commentary will come only from seeing the results of the show which can only be summed up in what had to be Dana White's words on this night.

"Oh fuck."

Let's start on the undercard which really only had two matches of interest. 

First, there was Dan Henderson against... some dude.  Basically, it was designed to be a squash for Hendo so he can be built back up as a legit contender for whichever title they decide he should be a legit contender for.  Instead, it sounds like he had trouble with the guy and ultimately had to squeak out a decision victory - and just barely at that.  This has got to be considered a bust.  Hendo's usefulness is fading fast.

Then, we've got the Franklin/Hamill fight.  I have to imagine that Dana was really kinda hoping he'd make a new superstar tonight and nothing would have cemented that more than Matt Hamill knocking off former UFC golden boy Rich Franklin in impressive fashion.  Hamill's story is a gold mine and would have easily gotten the UFC mainstream pub all over the world at a time when the words UFC would be best not associated with stories like Quinton Jackson's "rampage."  Instead, Franklin wins which really accomplishes nothing.  No one really wants to see him get a Light Heavy title match and while seeing Silva destroy him makes for fun TV, I don't know if they could sell a third fight between those two.  This too would be declared a bust in my humble opinion.

Of course, the worst news of the night?  Rashad Evans knocks Chuck Liddell the fuck out.  From the sound of the reports I've read, it was a crazy highlight reel knockout too. 

Rashad Evans.

Yes, THAT Rashad Evans.  The one who for the majority of his fights, could only be described as a slightly less boring version of Josh Koscheck.  The Human Blanket himself.  The King of Lay & Pray. 

He knocked out Chuck Liddell.

What do you do now?  No one really has any interest in seeing Rashad fight Forrest.  Rampage has fucked his world up for the time being I'd imagine.  Chuck still can make some money in rematches with Rampage and Silva and... well, a few others.  But seriously... the Iceman has lost three of his last four fights and if Vanderlei had been a little sharper that night, I think it'd be a solid four for four.  Is Chuck done?  Has his looping haymaker punches gotten just a little too slow with time?  Is the killer instinct gone?

I expect we'll be seeing Chuck Liddell in the cage for a long time to come because there's still money to squeeze from his bones - but I don't know if we'll ever see the sport-dominating Iceman again.          

Once More With Feeling

We'll start with this. I can't think right now.

COOOOOBRAAAAAA!

So, it's been a while since I've lived up to my unofficial title as the unofficial keeper and bearer of all tidings G.I. Joe movie related.

Tonight, I break that slump.

The MTV Movies Blog - a surprisingly decent source of movie scoops - had an article up today talking about Cobra Commander and what we can expect to see out of this notorious villain when he hits the silver screen next year. Here's a few excerpts I found interesting:

Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura on CC's origin:

“As we see it, he’s a very twisted character. As the backstory evolves, you discover why his personality [is like that]. I thought what was great in ‘The Dark Knight’ was that Heath kept telling you different stories [about his past] so you never knew what it was, and they were all spooky and crazy. [In our film] you get to see it, and you get to understand what’s happened to this guy.”

Blah. What he kinda fails to see in this comparison is that the fact that we didn't ever find out The Joker's true origin story is what made it so cool. It was that sense of mystery and intrigue that added to the enjoyment of it because we knew he was fucked up - we just didn't know why. The same likely should hold true for Cobra Commander. He's an evil psychopath with an army of terrorists at his disposal - do we really need to know why? Especially since it's going to tie in with this backstory they've created about CC and Duke being former BFFs.

Bonaventura on the voice:

While it won’t exactly match the classic high-pitched wail from the show, the producer says Gordon-Levitt will leave his own vocal stamp on Cobra Commander. “He has an interesting voice. He definitely has a take-off on that. I actually found the voice a little weak in the show…I’m sure I’ll get killed for saying that. I don’t know, it always seemed kind of silly. Hopefully we’re going to be a little more menacing.”

Blah. Okay, okay - the cartoon voice is over the top. It was supposed to be. I get the point of trying to make it more menacing. That's fine. But do you really want to start insulting the source material when most fans already think you're planning to drop a giant deuce right on top of it anyways?

And lastly - and most frightening - the mask:

“We’ll see Cobra Commander in the Cobra mask [but] it will not be like the show,” said di Bonaventura, who also promised they aren’t going to the comics for that one either. “I found some of the [mask] aspects a little KKK for me,” he said, “so we tried to steer away from that image. We thought that might be a little much.”

Blah. This guy's a fucking toolbox. It's too KKK? Are you serious? A blue mask with a cobra symbol on it? By the way, that guy under the mask is a terrorist bent on world domination - not the elimination of Roadblock and Stalker. So, no fabric mask. No helmet mask. They made their own mask is what they're trying to break gently to us.

And that's that. Once again, another set of news about the G.I. Joe movie that I just can't find a way to look positively on. I soooooo hope I'm wrong but I'm worried still.

Lesnar vs Couture: Let's Get It On!

Hooooo boy.

Dana White sure does know how to make a splash. You've got to wonder just how long he's been holding that in his back pocket. Just when Quinton Jackson had been formally charged and there was a nice-sized black eye on the UFC's rep - BOOM! - Dana puts y'all in check.

So, Randy Couture is officially back in the UFC and is still UFC Heavyweight Champion. And apparently he's back on a multifight deal as Dana says the winner of Randy/Brock will meet the winner of Noguiera/Mir for a unification fight in 2009. Now that's how you stir up interest in your heavy division. And if that wasn't enough, Dana drops the teaser that he wants to do the Fedor fight and as soon as Fedor is clear of contractual obligations to Affliction, they'll try to put it together.

Hoooooo boy.

At first, the Randy/Brock fight seemed a poor choice to me but the more I think about it, the more I start to like it. After his last fight, I saw dollar signs all over Brock Lesnar. The showboating after the win, the crazy near KO at the beginning, the total domination [boring as it was] of a legit heavy contender - all good signs for the UFC. If Brock can improve as much between Herring and Randy as he did between Mir and Herring, this could be an interesting fight. After all, even Randy can't harness the Flux Capacitor and make himself ten years younger. With this long of a layoff, will he have ring rust? If he does, this could get interesting. Randy's whole fight strategy is usually based around getting people down, dirty boxing, and ground-and-pound. I don't think you want to get that close to Brock for any of that so I think it could be a serious style clash for the champ.

And if Brock loses? Well, he's losing his first title fight to Randy Couture. No shame in that. That's an easy rebuild. If he wins? He beat Randy Couture! Oh, and if he beats Randy, you can bet that Dana's praying for Mir to upset Noguiera. Mir/Lesnar 2? I can smell the cash from here.

Dana is predicting that Lesnar/Randy will be the biggest fight in UFC history and do over a million buys. How much of that is promoter hype, I just don't know. But I do think that if Lesnar gets a chance to show his natural personality before the fight - and I mean shoving a mic under his face EVERY possible chance until then - people will want to pay to see him lose. And that's where the money is. The money is in people wanting to pay to see the heels lose - just like in pro wrestling - no matter how many people want to deny it. It worked for Tito. It would work for Josh Koshcheck if he'd embrace his inner dick. It'll work for Brock.

Biggest fight in UFC history? I guess we'll all know soon enough.

Merlin

As a sci-fi/fantasy geek, I'm always curious when a new project in that vein comes down the pipe. So, this morning when I discovered this on AICN, I had to take a look. Apparently this starts airing soon on the BBC with plans to import it to NBC at midseason.

I'm not sold entirely but it looks... interesting.

The Creative Process: Something Else About Faith

I'm not a religious person.

I know, I know. You all must be shocked by that news. I'm sure that most good, wholesome, God-fearing people spend their Labor Day talking about tentacle porn, vending machines with used underwear, and assorted other "goodies."

But yes, it's true. I'm not a religious person.

So, the problem becomes a thorny one when I decide that one of the potential scripts bouncing around my head has some perhaps very strong religious overtones.

The question - how does a non-religious person suddenly acquaint themselves enough with the Bible to make their story believable?

Or the subquestion - much like in Almost Famous when the kid asks "Do you have to be sad to write a sad song? Do you have to be in love to write a love song?"... my question becomes "Do you have to be religious to write about religion?"

Thoughts?

Drip Drip Drip

Ahhh, the loveliness of iPods on shuffle. This played right before I got out of the car tonight and made me think of just how awesome the first two seasons of the Chappelle Show were.