I seem to be doing a lot of TV talk these days, so why don’t I change the pace a little bit for the newest edition of The Pit. Lets talk about movies…

Low budget horror filmmaker John Johnson has started shooting a remake of Ed Wood’s infamous Plan 9 from Outer Space. Johnson is the writer/director behind such micro budget features as Skeleton Key, Skeleton Key 2: 667 Neighbor of the Beast, and Freshman Psych. I’m all for independent film, but I really don’t see the point of remaking classic (even if they are classic for how bad they are) films. Johnson should stick with producing original movies, heck, I might even try to track down his Skeleton Key flicks after I’m done with this posting…

Michael Shannon is the latest actor to be rumored for Zack Synder’s Superman: The Man of Steel. It is unknown what role he is in talks for, but can you say… Lex Luthor? He would be an inspired choice for Superman’s number 1 foe, even if Zod is the rumored leading villain in the flick. Shannon would make even a short appearance as Luthor memorable, and it could also set up future films nicely.  Just don’t cast another actor as Luthor that has a problem shaving their head.

Speaking about Synder, his new flick Sucker Punch opens this weekend. The movie looks like a mind bending visual cocktail. It is just too bad that Warner Brothers has completely dropped the ball with advertising it. I’m a fan of Synder. I’m looking forward to Sucker Punch, yet I have no clue what it is about. Sadly I doubt it is going to do that well, and I just hope that doesn’t cause the studio to be looking over his shoulder as he crafts the new Superman movie. I have the utmost faith in Synder as a director and I can’t wait to see what his vision for Superman is.

Also coming out this weekend is Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. Um… wait, am I the only one that had no idea they made a sequel to the mildly successful book adaptation? I’ve seen even less advertising for this than I have for Sucker Punch.  Have the studios just given up on getting people to theaters? Did I miss them throwing in the towel?

Next week we have Russell Brand and James Marsden acting opposite a CGI Easter Bunny in Hop. Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page suit up to fight crime in James Gunn’s Super. Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne fight evil spirits in Insidious, by the director of the original (and best) Saw. Finally there is the over advertised Source Code, a sci-fi tale that sees Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan on a train that keep exploding. Well, at least I’d have something to watch as I munch on my popcorn. How about you folks, what will you be seeing over the next few weeks?

A teaser poster for the upcoming X-Men prequel has been released! Check it out below…

The movie brings Bryan Singer back to the X-Men universe as a producer with the awesome hand of Matthew Vaughn directing the action flick that stars Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Caleb Landry Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, January Jones, Kevin Bacon and Lucas Till.

Friday Night Lights only ended (for me) two weeks ago, but I already intensely miss it.  I had to watch it on its second run on NBC, because I didn’t have Direct TV.  I missed out on the extra content, because NBC shortens the episodes to add commercial time to them. The forth season ended on a really high note, and I can’t wait to see what the East Dillon Lions do next season.

Direct TV recently announced that they will be producing two additional seasons for the Glenn Close/Rose Byrne courtroom drama Damages. Only, the deal for Damages is very different than the FNL deal. Damages will only air on Direct TV, and will not be rebroadcast for people with cable providers. I’ll have to wait extra long for the episodes to come out on Blu-Ray before I can even see them.

I was thinking a lot about Friday Night Lights and Damages today, and funny enough, I was contacted by localtv-satellite.com to take a look at their website and Direct TV sales. With local tv satellite you can look at and decide between a bunch of different television packages. They have one package that is only 29.99 a month, and a second one that sells for 39.99, both would work with my budget.

Head over to www.localtv-satellite.com to find out more information on their packages and for payment options. Would you switch cable providers simply so you could continuing watching one of your favorite shows?

Tonight is the third season premiere for Damages.  This season Patty (Glenn Close) is defending a Madoff-like character, while Ellen (Rose Byrne) now works at the DA’s office and is trying to prosecute the corrupt business man.  With this shift in dynamic it should be interesting to see how things play out for the pair. In the past, they were working together yet secretly against each other. Now they will be facing off directly. Will Ellen be able to hold her ground against Patty? The new season kicks off tonight at 10pm on FX Network.

Also, don’t forget that we have an all new Chuck at 8pm on NBC. What else is on?

8PM

• ABC: The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love (Reality… with a horrible subtitle)
• CW: One Tree Hill (Melodrama)
• FOX: House (Medical Drama)
• NBC: CHUCK!!! (Spy Action Comedy Drama Awesomeness)
• ABCFAM: Secret Life of the American Teenager (Teen Drama)

9PM

• CW: Life Unexpected (Drama)
• FOX: 24 (Action Drama)
• NBC: Heroes (Disappointing Sci-Fi)
• ABCFAM: Make It or Break It (Sports Drama)
• USA: WWE Monday Night Raw (Wrestling)

10PM

• ABC: Castle (Crime Drama Comedy)
• NBC: Jay Leno Show (Talk/Sketch Comedy)
• ABCFAM: Greek (Drama)
• TNT: Men of a Certain Age (Drama)

It has been a while since we’ve had a Pit (let along a mid-week version)! Sorry about the slow up, it is just that time of the year, but things are starting to pick up with the new season of television!

• Don’t forget to enter our Kevin Smith book giveaway!

• THOR has an official description: “The movie’s story centers on Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions re-ignite an ancient war. As punishment, Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans. Once here, he learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends dark forces of Asgard to invade Earth.” It sounds like it fits in well with Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk established in the Marvel movie universe.

• Glee is pretty awesome. If you haven’t given it a chance yet, you can watch full episodes on FOX’s website for free.

• Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, and Andrew Garfield have joined the cast of The Social Network. The flick focuses on the founding of Facebook and was scripted by Aaron Sorkin and set to be directed by David Fincher. Even with all of this talent, I just can’t get excited about a movie focusing on the formation of Facebook, Sounds like a complete borefest.  At least Jesse will be kicking some Zombie-ass soon enough.

• Justin Lin has been signed to helm a reboot of Highlander. What happened to there can be only one? While I do like Lin’s work, I’d rather see them make Highlander 13 rather than start over with a “hot/young/sexy/hip/trendy/can’t act” cast. Oh well. As long as they don’t try to remake Back to the Future, I’ll be okay.

• The cast of one of TV’s best shows, Damages, just got bigger.  Campbell Scott, Martin Short, Lily Tomlin and Keith Carradine will be joining Glenn Close and Rose Byrne for the series’ third season.  You can revisit the show’s first season here.

Okay, it is a Saturday during the summer and absolutely nothing is on television. So, what is there to watch? Thanks to the Internet, you don’t have to waste money on renting or Netflixing movies and television sets.  This weekend I’m going to rewatch all 13 episodes from the first season of Damages thanks to Crackle Television.

The series follows Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne), a bright and ambitious lawyer, who takes a job for Patty Hewes (Glenn Close), a high-stakes litigator who does everything in her power to win cases. Ted Danson co-stars as billionaire Arthur Frobisher, who Hewes is coming head to head with in a case that will break one of them.

The thing that I love about Damages is that the whole season is one very tight and well planned storyline. Using flashforwards and flashbacks, the creative team weaves an interesting puzzle that slowly comes together. If you haven’t watched the first season, I highly recommend checking it out!

You can view the episodes by heading here.

The nominations for the 2009 Emmy Awards were annouced this morning. How on the ball are they? Check out these lists and decide for yourself. I’ll be posting my personal thoughts over the next few weeks. Stay tuned…

BEST DRAMA SERIES

• Big Love
• Breaking Bad
• Damages
• Dexter
• House
• Lost
• Mad Men

BEST COMEDY SERIES

• Entourage
• Family Guy
• Flight of the Conchords
• How I Met Your Mother
• The Office
• 30 Rock
• Weeds

Continue reading for the list of drama and comedy series nominations…

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