Celebrate the 4th by watching television!
It’s another holiday, and that means more TV marathons and specials! Here’s a handy guide to the 4th (and the 5th and 6th).
July 4
- AMC has Planet of the Apes movies all morning, then the Jaws movies starting at 10:30am.
- At 6am, USA has a Walker, Texas Ranger marathon.
- TMC has episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (80s version) at 6, then Hitchcock movies all day.
- At 7, ESPN2 has coverage of Wimbledon Tennis.
- At 8, A&E has a marathon of Paranormal State.
- Biography has a City Confidential marathon starting at 8.
- There’s a Twilight Zone marathon starting at 8 on Sci-Fi.
- At 9, TruTV has a Beach Patrol marathon.
- FX has a King of the Hill marathon at 9.
- At noon, NBC has more Wimbledon.
- At 2pm, TV Land has an I Love Lucy marathon.
- At 3, HGTV has a Design Star marathon.
- At 8, PBS has A Capitol Fourth.
- At 9, NBC has the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular.
- At 10, CBS has the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular.
July 5
- At 8am, Bravo has a Top Chef marathon.
- At 9, NBC has the Wimbledon Ladies Final.
- At 11, Discovery has a Deadliest Catch marathon.
- At 1:30pm, ABC Family has the Harry Potter movies.
- At 2, A&E has a Criss Angel Mindfreak marathon.
- TV Land has a Hogan’s Heroes marathon starting at 2.
July 6
- At 9am, NBC has the Wimbledon Men’s Final.
- At 11, Food Network has a marathon of Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee episodes.
- At 3pm, CBS has the final round of the AT&T National Golf Tournament.
Helena Bonham Carter Joins Terminator Salvation
Helena Bonham Carter will have a small but pivitol role in Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins according to The Hollywood Reporter. Director McG and the cast have been filming in New Mexico for just over a month, and are making sure they get all the exteriors shot before a potential SAG strike.
Helena Bonham Carter is best known for the roles in the Harry Potter movies, as well as every Tim Burton film since 2001.
Guillermo del Toro wants to direct Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Exercising his key to the Hollywood kingdom, Guillermo del Toro says the time is right for him to shake a deathstick at the Harry Potter franchise. The mastermind behind Pan’s Labyrinth and Hell Boy tells MTV that he’s the perfect badass to envision Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and finale (for now) literary tale of the wizard.
“I’m definitely interested,” he insisted, “now that the movies have grown darker. They have a contrast between the gloomy existence of the kid and the world he’s exposed to. They have evolved into a really nice universe.”
At one time, Del Toro’s name was mentioned to direct the third film, The Prisoner of Azkaban, which ultimately went to his good friend Alfonso Cuarόn and is still generally recognized as tops amongst critics and adults. Back in October, he informed MTV Budapest that Deathly Hallows was more to his liking, saying “I’m up to be the one who kills twenty guys.” Well then, he gets my vote. Not only does the material play to del Toro’s strong suits, but he seems to have a genuine passion and festering vision for it.
“I got [’Deathly Hallows’] for my daughter and she was like ‘When are you going to give it to me?’” he smiled. “I read it and I was very moved by the ending. It ends very much like a Dickens novel.”
Thus far, the Harry Potter movies have served their purpose, but I wouldn’t refer to any of them as classic fantasy or children’s films. They feel too much like well-honed products to me and lack a certain magic and wonderment. It would be fantastic for del Toro to send the franchise, one that surely fired up millions of kids’ first love for movies, off with an installment that was pure, sweeping cinema. But in the minds of studio execs, might it contrast too much with the prior films?
Steve Kloves Talks “Deathly Hallows”
In a recent email to The Baltimore Sun, screenwriter Steve Kloves (who adapted all of the Harry Potter movies, except for Order of the Phoenix) discusses the decision behind the recently announced split of Deathly Hallows into two movies, and what it means to him.
“Years ago,” he writes, “we briefly — and seriously — considered doing Goblet of Fire as two films. So this concept is not altogether new. As for Deathly Hallows, I intuited — almost from the first moments I began reading it and certainly once I’d finished — that to realize the story in a single film was going to be a tall order. Others in ‘the group’ felt similarly. So the idea of two films began to get kicked around as early as late summer of 2007. We didn’t take it lightly. But ultimately everyone felt that despite the challenges it would present, it was the most sound creative decision. I’m sure some will think we’re crazy. My wife looked at me cross-eyed when I first mentioned it. But I’m really excited about it because it should allow us to stretch a bit with the characters and give them the proper send-off. The story is highly emotional and those moments deserve time to breathe. And, personally, I feel we owe it to Jo — in order to preserve the integrity of the work — and the fans — for their loyalty all these years — to give them the best and most complete experience possible. I’d love to do it in three parts!”
He also noted that working with director David Yates on currently filming Half-Blood Prince “was a brilliant experience, so this should be a treat!”
I’ve always enjoyed Kloves’s scripts, and am looking forward to seeing what he will do with DH. Personally, I was all behind them splitting GoF into two movies as well, because they concentrated WAY too much on the action and not on the characters, but what do I know. I’m really glad they decided to do this!
As much as I liked what David Yates did with OOTP, I was still kind of hoping Peter Jackson wanted the job…!
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 will be released in November of 2010, while Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will come out in May of 2011.
What do you guys think?