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Sunday, December 24, 2006

Cast Off

I know the calendar says December...As far as I'm concerned though it's October:

It seems that director Rob Zombie may have found his "Dr. Sam Loomis" for that Halloween sequel/remake...The late great Donald Pleasence originated the role and owned the character for 5 films...The actor chosen to step into the role has very big shoes to fill.

The drum beat of that rumor that Keanu Reeves will play Speed Racer for Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski just got a bit louder. But with nothing confirmed for sure--we'll just have to wait and see I think casting Keanu in the lead is a great idea just the same.

...I wanted to take same time to acknowledge the passing of someone who helped ensure a happy childhood for millions of kids myself included...The story via the World Entertainment News Network:

Animation legend Joseph Barbera died at his home in Studio City, California [on Tuesday Dec. 19th] He was 95.

The co-founder of Hanna-Barbera Studios, Barbera was born in New York in 1911 and began his career as a banker before teaming up with William Hanna in the late 1930s to create beloved cartoon characters like Tom & Jerry, The Jetsons and The Flintstones during their 60-year partnership.

The pair's first collaboration was entitled Puss Gets The Boot, which became the first outing for Tom & Jerry.

Hanna and Barbera picked up seven Oscars for their Tom & Jerry cartoons. The acclaimed animators then created one of the first independent animation studios to produce TV series in 1957 and the hits kept coming with The Huckleberry Hound Show and Quick Draw McGraw.

But the duo landed one of their most beloved shows in 1960 when The Flintstones debuted - the first animated series to air in primetime. The show, about a stone age community, ran for six years and went on to become the top-ranking animated program. Other hits for Barbera and his partner included Top Cat, Scooby-Doo and Smurfs, which earned the pair two Daytime Emmy Awards in 1982 and in 1983 for Outstanding Children's Entertainment Series and a Humanitas Award in 1987.




Of the the many characters created by Hanna-Barbera, The Flintstones are, and always will be my favorite. The stone age family was brought to life on the big screen in 1994 first in The Flintstones and then again fir 2000's The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas...These live action films did a good job at capturing the spirit of the classic TV series.

Read the CNN obituary on Barbera for more...

...As the football season hits the home stretch--the playoff-bound Chicago Bears will take on the Detroit Lions later today...

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