BuzzSugar

Link Time! 10/14

BuzzSugar — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:30:25 PDT

American Girl announced yesterday that it would discontinue all products related to Samantha Parkington?! - Popwatch
Were those a bunch of clues about the future on How I Met Your Mother last night? - The TV Addict
Check out a list of the seven funniest horror movies, and the lowdown on this year's most popular movie-inspired Halloween costumes (Joker, Iron Man, etc.). - Cinematical
Check out Bjork's new single, with backup help from Thom Yorke. - Stereogum
Scrooge McDuck pops up on a list of TV characters you could trust with your money in these tough economic times. - TV Squad
Guillermo del Toro discusses his new take on Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five. - MTV Movies Blog
Practice your Office lingo with this "Addictionary." - Pop Candy
Click here to chat about Rocco DiSpirito's hot pink ruffly number from this week's Dancing With the Stars, and make your official winner predictions. - Watch With Kristin
Celebrating the news of a new Saturday Night Live clip site. - geeksugar

Three Remakes Get Space on Guillermo del Toro's 10-Year Plan

BuzzSugar — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:30:40 PDT

You want to get a meeting with Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro? Good luck. According to a story in Variety today, he's booked . . . for about the next decade.

Del Toro, who's already committed five years - five years - to directing and co-writing The Hobbit, has now lined up his next four projects for Universal after that. And they're doozies:

Del Toro will remake Frankenstein, which is apparently a personal fascination for him to the point where he "has made his home a memorabilia shrine to the Karloff monster" from the 1931 film.
He'll also remake Slaughterhouse-Five, saying it will be a more literal interpretation of the Kurt Vonnegut novel than the 1972 film was.
The third remake is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where del Toro also plans to more closely translate Robert Louis Stevenson's original work to film and "explore the addictive high the repressed Jekyll experienced as his murderous alter ego."
The fourth project - which Universal executives think will be the first one he tackles after The Hobbit - is an adaptation of the forthcoming novel Drood, in which the author speculates about what happened to Charles Dickens after he survived a major train crash.

Oh, and that's not all: He's also producing a couple of films and has some personal pet projects in the pipeline, too. There's also the possibility of another Hellboy sequel - though del Toro joked to Variety (probably accurately) that Ron Perlman will be almost 60 by the time he gets around to it. Hey, the more of del Toro's unique visual storytelling that comes to movie theaters, the happier I am; you?

Source

Remembering Kurt Vonnegut: 1922 - 2007

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:36:35 PDT

I awoke this morning to the sad news that groundbreaking novelist Kurt Vonnegut died Wednesday at age 84. As reported by the AP, Vonnegut's wife, photographer Jill Krementz, said the writer suffered brain injuries following a recent fall at his home in Manhattan.

Probably best-known for his books Slaughterhouse Five and Cat's Cradle, Vonnegut was truly one of the most important American writers of the 20th century, lending his distinct voice to everything from historical satire to non-traditional sci-fi and laugh-out-loud humor. In fact, I think Vonnegut's stylistic legacy is one of the most powerful influences on many of today's modern novelists.

Throughout my adult life, Vonnegut has been one of my favorite authors, and having the opportunity to hear him speak during my college years only heightened my respect for this sharp and endlessly clever man. Though I would highly recommend the more classic Vonnegut novels, my favorite books of his might be the slightly more obscure Galapagos, which tackles the theory of evolution in a thoroughly absurd way, and the darkly futuristic novel The Sirens of Titan. Any other Vonnegut fans out there? If so, tell me which of his books is your favorite.

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Banned Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of the Last Two Decades

Kelly Schwarze — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:49:54 PDT

When a high school in Missouri recently banned Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut's story of World War II as told through a science fiction lens, for creating "false conceptions of American history and government," the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library stepped up to donate copies of the book to any affected student that requests it.

Despite First Amendment protection, banning or attempting to challenge books has a long history, with many cases even making it to the US Supreme Court. As the American Library Association explains: "books usually are challenged with the best intentions-to protect others, frequently children, from difficult ideas and information." Science fiction and fantasy books often contain these themes that some find questionable, whether it's alien life forms, magical powers, or mystical worlds. In honor of Banned Books week, we're rounding up the most challenged science fiction and fantasy books according to the ALA. Browse the list below!

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling - The stories of the wizarding world are seen by challengers to have occult and violent themes.
Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins - The hot series for youth and adult readers has been deemed unsuitable to its target age group and violent.
Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer - Its movie stars may provoke pandemonium, but critics of the book say it's too sexually explicit.
His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman - The series beginning with The Golden Compass is often decried for its anti-religious viewpoints.
The Giver by Lois Lowry - Despite the book's message of freedom of choice, criticisms are made for the fictional dystopia's bleak family outlook.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - Offensive language, racism, and insensitivity are often cited in challenges to the future dystopian novel.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - The tale of a future world where the printed word is banned and systemically burned was criticized for offensive language.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle - Children's search through space and time for their vanished father is often challenged for the inclusion of supposed witches.

Follow the break for more challenged books of the last 20 years.