The Joke is on us

The viral marketing for The Dark Knight has been kicked up a notch. And by a notch, I mean a marketing campaign that has left an Internet trail so large, Warner Brothers might have Chris Hansen on their tail.

It first started with whysoserious.com, where fans were sent on a scavenger hunt in major cities to put together a clue.

When the hunt was completed, a new picture of the Joker was revealed as well as a link to rorysdeathkiss.com, and yet another scavenger hunt.

Now there is TheGothamTimes.com, a four-page faux newspaper that uses news stories to present the overall plot and atmosphere of the setting for the next Batman flick.

On top of this paper, there are also links found within the paper, particularly the Ha Ha Ha Times, which seems to be the same paper except altered by the Joker.

Here are the other faux sites that were revealed in the site:
We Are The Answer
Gotham National Bank
Remembering Gina
Gotham Police Department
Gotham City Rail

Also, Empire magazine is slowly revealing a picture of the Joker here....

Expect the first official trailer for The Dark Knight to be before the Will Smith vehicle, I Am Legend

Ready To Exhale?

Could the squabbles between writers and the studios be over soon? Nikki Finke of the highly reliable Deadline Hollywood Daily has a source that says a deal is about to be met.

"As the WGA strike begins its 4th week, I've been told positive news about today's resumption of contract talks between the writers and the producers. So positive, in fact, that I'm almost fearful to post it. But here goes: a very reliable source tells me that there appears to be a deal seemingly in place between both sides."

This is terrific news considering that I am completely zoned into shows that are currently in production, including...

Dexter - Gina Bellafante wrote a great article in the New York Times about this loveable serial killer who's episode last week broke Showtime's ratings record.

Californication - This show revolves around a gifted author who lets drugs, alcohol and sex get in the way of his writing. While the Red Hot Chili Peppers recently filed a lawsuit against Showtime for the name of the program, here is a great article on why Californication is the perfect show to watch during the strike.

Lost - Filming is suppose to come to a halt on November 30th because of the strike, but maybe this resolution on the horizon is taken from the hit shows "webisodes."

I will keep you posted on the latest speculation regarding the strike, as well as its effect on these shows.

Isn't it Iconic?

Entertainment Weekly has released their list of the 50 Greatest Television Icons Of All Time. Since Hollywood is in a proverbial slap fight, let's take a nastalgic reflection of the good old days. Here are some highlights from the list.

#42. James Gandolfini. While nearly every Sopranos fan hated the series finale, I thought it was brilliant. Then again, I am a colossal television geek.

#32. Henry Winkler. This is an atrocity, flat out. How is EW going to tell me that Arthur "Fonz" Fonzarelli, the man who literally jumped a shark, is not in the top ten? I almost quit this countdown on morals alone.

#25. Heather Locklear. Shwing.

#16. David Letterman. A staple of American television, Letterman is hilarious and timeless. In other words, he makes Leno look like an anxiety-ridden 16-year-old doing stand up at open mic night.

#1. Johnny Carson. While Mr. Late Night was a little before my time, his Best Of series is in my collection. He owned that stage and had his audience hook, line and sinker.

Behind the Picket Lines

While Los Angeles is known for its warm weather, shoulders are getting awfully cold when dealing with communication between the studio execs and the WGA.

20th Century Fox and CBS Paramont are beginning the process of taking legal action against the striking writers on grounds of breach of contract. This hardball tactic is not going to ease any tension that is already in place, nor will it stop my ever-growing frustration against those greedy big wigs running the studio.

A slew of actors are joining the picket lines to show support. One of my favorite new show's leading actors, David Duchovny (star of Californication), as well as Robin Williams have joined the picket lines. The cast of Everybody Loves Raymond and Lost producer Damon Lindelof have also voice support.

Some good news for Lost fans however. Mobisodes, mini episodes of Lost (between 2-3 minutes) are being posted on ABC's official site for the show. They will be weekly and continue until the series returns in February (hopefully).

An Inconvenient Strike

While it is only officially day two of the strike that is putting the squeeze on Hollywood, battle lines are already being drawn and the casualties are mounting.

Matt Groening (The Simpsons), Larry David (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiam), and the cast of Grey's Anatomy have joined the pickets lines to show their allegiance to the Writers Guild Of America.

Strikers implemented a new battle tatic by tapping into the walkie talkies during production of ABC's show Big Shots to throw off production.

Casualties of the strike include 24, Law and Order: SVU, Pushing Daisies, The Office and a slew of new shows including Dirty Sexy Money.

A potential John Wayne figure is emerging from the battle fields of this strike...

Writers Unite!

And so the strike begins.....
The Writers Guild of America and studio executives could not reach a deal. Here are some reactions and news.

The LA Times has posted a rundown on how hit television series will be affected. All late night programs like The Daily Show, Late Night With David Letterman and The Conan O'Brien show will all go to repeats. Lost is only expected to have eight of its 16 episodes complete.

Tina Fey picketed outside of 30 Rock in protest.

John Stewart will pay his writer's salaries for the next two weeks to help the strikers financially.

Shawn Ryan, writer for the critically acclaimed FX series The Shield, has posted his reasons for going on strike. It is a good inside look and should help with a perspective to the strike.

While I am on the writers side of this argument, my fingers are crossed for a quick resolution