Natalie Portman is being pursued by Fox 2000 to star in the film adaptation of Megan Abbott‘s novel Dare Me, a story involving high school cheerleaders, suicide, mystery, and presumably lots of drama.  The film will center around two high school seniors, Beth Cassidy and Addy Hanlon, who have a Heather Chandler/ Veronica Sawyer type relationship, and how their world changes for the more mysterious once a new, young cheerleading coach enters the mix.

It’s a miracle. Textile artist Claire Moynihan has created insects I would touch willingly. She calls her technique “a ‘freestyle’ form of 3D embroidery which can loosely be described as stumpwork.” I call it, really cute bugs on balls.

Rom-com isn’t my usual genre of choice, I’ll admit*, but Karen Gillan‘s first post-Who movie, Not Another Happy Ending, looks… kinda cute? I mean, the male romantic lead seems like a jerk, and a clean-shaven Desmond Hume is causing me some major cognitive dissonance (even if Desmond wasn’t always scruffy on Lost, my mental vision of him is), but other than that… yeah. This might be a Thursday-afternoon-eating-snack-food-and-wearing-a-Snuggie movie.**

*Bridget Jones’s Diary holds a special place in my heart, though. And The Shop Around the Corner, for Jimmy Stewart reasons.

**Yes, I do own a Snuggie. Respect it. Respect the Snuggie!

(via: Digital Spy)

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There’s no doubt that people like to take the distinctive silhouette of Hello Kitty and wrap it in the colors and accessories of other media properties, particularly ones with tones wildly divergent from “cute animal people doing cute things.” Sometimes those mashups are even created by Sanrio themselves, like when they created Hello Kitty merchandise in the likeness of each member of the band KISS.

And now, as Sanrio partners with KISS and The Hub television channel for Kiss Hello Kitty, a cartoon show, announced today, which is apparently already in production.

Cancer Vixen is the 2006 autobiographical graphic novel of Marisa Acocella Marchetto, and now (well, soon) it might be an HBO series produced by Trudie Styler, Celine Rattray, and Cate Blanchett, starring Cate Blanchett.

Look, all I’m saying is that it’d be pretty great for television and comics to have a series about the life of a woman who makes them.

Wreck-It Ralph was the King (Candy) at last night’s Annie Awards, beating out Brave and ParaNorman for Best Animated Feature. It was nominated alongside Hotel Transylvania, Frankenweenie, Rise of the Guardians, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, and The Rabbi’s Cat too, but honestly, did any of those have a chance? Actually, speaking realistically ParaNorman was a long shot as well, but I really (really really really… ) wanted it to win and may have deluded myself as to its chances a little.

My first reaction to hearing that the FDA approved a robot doctor was “Nooo, FDA, why must you encourage humanity’s inevitable demise at the hands of our eventual robot overlords?!,” but once I was able to switch my brain out of dystopia mode (yeah, it’s a thing), I realized that this is actually really cool.

Don’t expect Jessica De Gouw’s role on The CW’s Arrow to become recurring anytime soon. The actress has been chosen to play Mina Harker in NBC’s upcoming Dracula series starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes might find itself James Franco-less. In an interview with MTV, the Rise of the Planet of the Apes star has said that he might not be in the movie’s sequel at all, or if he is, it might be in a very small role.

I’m OK with that. I don’t think anyone came out of the (surprisingly good) Rise of the Planet of the Apes, saying “Man, that James Franco did a good job.” I mean, he did. I think he did. I don’t really remember. The majority of my post-Rise thoughts were more along the lines of “Andy Serkis, YOU ARE A GIFT!“

“I’m geek royalty now. That’s the main responsibility. It’s not playing Bilbo, it’s my responsibility as a geek prince.” – Hobbit star Martin Freeman speaking at the New York premiere of The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey.

Freeman is of course also stars in BBC’s Sherlock, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Shaun of the Dead. Enough to make him a Prince, or is The Hobbit enough?

He also told reporters, “I hope by the time my life is over I’ve given [fans] something else to talk about but I think in all reality I think it’s very likely that they’ll be calling me Bilbo.”

Speaking of fans, several paid $500 to attend the premiere. Proceeds went to the American Film Institute.

(via The Hollywood Reporter)

Previously in The Hobbit