Thoughts

Hiiii guys!! Let's just get down to my thoughts this week-

1) So remember how I talked about an inter-year drama competition in my college in the last thoughts post? Well, guess whose play grabbed the best play, best director, best actor and best supporting actor prizes?! All the hard work and body aches and lack of sleep paid off splendidly on the day of the competition and we did win ALL OF THE AWARDS (except technical but that's all cool).

All the years of winning academic prizes (nerd alert) have not made me as happy as getting this, which I got along with my co-director Garima. 21 is going pretty great so far :)

2) Charlie Hunnam dropped out of the 50 Shades movie. Hehehehehehehee. Yeah, this movie is totes going to happen.

3) Speaking of the "other" sex movie that I can't seem to quite make up my mind about, Nymphomaniac has released possibly my favourite character posters of all time. I love it. I love it for the same reason I love the opening scene of Marie Antoinette. I think von Trier is daring us to mock him and it is awesome. Just look at those faces. He and the film's publicity team totally know what people think the film will be like and they're giving it to them. LET THERE BE PUN-Y HEADLINES!

4) Matt Smith has officially stepped down as the Doctor *sniff* and is now going to play none other than Patrick Bateman in the American Psycho musical. This leaves me with conflicted feelings because as happy as I am for Smith and have full faith in his acting and singing abilities, an American Psycho musical just sounds like sacrilege of the highest kind. Like superior business card + dinner reservation at Dorsia X 100000000 BAD!!! Why are they making this musical at all? Apparently there's some song where people gyrate about brands or something. What?! But still, go Matt Smith!! :/ :/

5) One of my most anticipated films currently in production has a release date now. The Fault in Our Stars, the film based on John Green's amazing novel, starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort will release on 6th June, 2014. I am super duper excited for this film. In related news, the director of last year's beautiful The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky and the writers of The Spectacular Now (which stars Woodley) and (500) Days of Summer, Michael H. Webber and Scott Neustadter will team up to make While We're Young. This is based Adena Halpern's book 29 about a woman in her seventies who gets to become to her twenty-something self for one day. It will star Emma Watson who was in Perks. I think it sounds amazing. These are a group of extremely talented people who are more than capable, as we have seen, of showing incredible stories onscreen. I am looking forward to the movie a lot.

6) Benedict Cumberbatch is all over the place! He was voted Sexiest Male Movie Star by Empire Magazine (Miss Watson got the title in her sex). His interview on Reddit was awesomesauce. I mean, he talked about his, Matt Smith's and Hiddles's cheekbones! If I ever write a book on bone structure, those three will be part of the Holy Trinity of Cheekbones (I'm a little obsessed with cheekbones if you weren't aware...). He also came on the Graham Norton Show with none other than Harrison Ford. My favourite thing though was his "Rickman-Off" with Jimmy Fallon-

Simple joys of life.

7) Following the news of Elizabeth Olsen joining the cast of The Avengers: Age of Ultron as the Scarlet Witch, we now know that Aaron Johnson will play her onscreen brother, Quicksilver. I'm pretty happy about this. I like Johnson as an actor and I really hope there's a nice scene where all the male superheroes get shirtless. Well, Johnson and Chris Evans at least.

8) I know I don't usually talk about any television shows (except Doctor Who and Sherlock of course) but I have been watching a number of shows that I just feel like sharing my thoughts on. First of all, this season of American Horror Story is going to be awesomeness itself. I loved the first episode "Bitchcraft". The name alone gave me unimaginable joy but what a fantastic episode and ZOMG what a cast! Of course the older actresses, Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Angela Basset are on fire, but I am very pleased with the entire ensemble. My only issue with this season is the lack of Zachary Quinto who would have made it so much more sassier and beautiful. Next, there is the Vampire Diaries spin-off The Originals, which I daresay is going to surpass, well, the original. It has all the hotness, crazy twists, zingy one-liners of The Vampire Diaries minus the annoying romantic drama. WIN! I'm really enjoying it. I literally just started watching Sleepy Hollow and that too is quite an entertaining show. It reminds me of Elementary a bit, but I do like the story and Tom Mison is pretty. Another new show that I am liking a lot is Masters of Sex. I mean, Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan in a period setting- 'nuff said. Finally, I would just like to mention that I was really distracted by Chris Pratt's obvious fitness throughout the season premier of Parks and Recreation. PROMINENT SEXY CHEEKBONES, OH MY!

9) Stevee's back!!!!!!!! Yaayyy! This also gives me the perfect opportunity to say that Jessica Chastain's Facebook statuses are among the things that make life worth living.

10) Posters- I still haven't watched Gravity :'( But do check out these spectacular fan posters. Even though I just professed my love for the Nymphomaniac character posters, I also really adore those of American Hustle. I would actually build an altar to the Amy Adams one. The posters of The Double are supremely cool and weird and I need this movie like now. I really like Oldboy's new poster. It's interesting and fans of the original will see a lot of familiar elements. The US poster of Blue is the Warmest Colour is very pretty too. A bit of a cliche to say it, but I do really love the colours in it. Conversely, I despise the Labour Day poster. Yes, just use the one official and rather boring image of your film so far as its poster without even trying to change it a teeny bit. Gahh.

11) Trailers- The only thought that kept going through my head while watching the Charlie Countryman trailer was that Ron is in a film with Mads Mikkelsen and Hugo Stiglitz! I can't quite give a shit about anything else in it, sorry. I couldn't even watch all of I, Frankenstein's trailer, soooo... Why Aaron Eckhart, why? The full trailer of Monuments Men has more Jean Dujardin, so yaay! And the full trailer of American Hustle made me even more excited about the Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence. Yes, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Renner all also look great and will probably be excellent in the movie, but it's a total ladies show for me. The new trailer of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug gives me hope because a) I think they *will* show Thorin as more of a dick in this one, which he was in the book, b) I am totally going to get aroused by a CGI dragon's voice in this movie. Benedict, you beauty. I really liked the trailer of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit because hey, Chris Pine in a suit being all action hero-y! My priorities are so sorted. I think it will be a fun movie though, so there you go. 

12) Finally, I don't know how but I missed it when they announced that Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer are co-starring in Guy Richie's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. But goodness, look at the all-man gorgeousity-

The mind races.

This turned out to be quite a hormones-driven post. Sorry about that. Byeeeeee.

Thoughts

          Hello everyone! So guess what? My exams have been postponed for another month which is great news except that they are starting the same day as the new ANTM cycle which is the Guys and Girls cycle AKA my most anticipated thing on TV ever! Gahhhhhhh.
           Don't judge me.

1) Gary Oldman is eyeing Benedict Cumberbatch and Ralph Fiennes for his second directorial feature, Flying Horse. It will be about a photographer who murders a theatre critic who is having an affair with his wife. I think this will be excellent. All of them should definitely act together, even though Oldman has separately costarred with both the actors- with Cumberbatch in Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy and with Fiennes in the Harry Potter movies. Honestly though, if the Harry Potter films were still being made, Cumberbatch would have definitely made it into its gargantuan British cast. He could have been a Death Eater, or maybe a younger version of Snape. Yes! They should actually make a Snape spin-off with Cumberbatch- I will not mind one bit. Anyways, I want Flying Horse now!

2) Speaking of other Hogwarts alumni, Emma Watson is going to reteam with Harry Potter producer David Heyman in Queen of the Tearling, the adaptation of the first book in a trilogy. The story is "set three centuries after an environmental catastrophe when a malevolent Red Queen holds considerable power". People are calling it the Game of Thrones for women, which makes no actual sense if you watch the show- the women are the biggest badasses in Westeros. Like duhhh. Still, I am really happy that Watson is going places, though I don't know if another blockbuster series is a good idea. Having said that, she has already played one of the most inspiring female role models in recent times so she is an apt choice for this.

3) This news came out on the morning of the day Matt Smith announced his retirement which was when my world ended. Anyhoo, Karen Gillan, Smith's ex-costar and companion on Doctor Who, is going to play a lead villain in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie, which is brilliant! She will be a baddie alongside another beautiful tall person, Lee Pace, and Michael Rooker. Rumours suggest that she will play a bounty-hunter named Angela but we will see if that's true or not. The film will also star Chris Pratt, John C. Reily, Zoe Saldana and Glenn Close. So happy for Gillan- redheads FTW!

4) Other casting news- Eddie Redmayne is going to play Stephen Hawking in Theory of Everything. The film will chronicle that period of Hawking's life when he was diagnosed with motor neuron disease and was told he has a couple of years to live, causing him to go into depression and have problems with his to-be wife. It sounds like a very demanding, dramatic role and it will be interesting to see what Redmayne does with it. It will be directed by Man on Wire director, James Marsh. Next, Leonardo DiCaprio is going to play Rasputin and Jason Hall, the screenwriter who wrote the upcoming Steven Spielberg-Bradley Cooper movie American Sniper, is going to pen the script. It's still very much in early development but it sounds cool and weird and I'm glad to see that Leo is still after that Oscar. GIVE HIM THAT OSCAR, YOU BASTARDS! Finally, the dude who did win the Oscar, Christoph Waltz might be starring in Roman Polanski's True Crimes which is based on a New Yorker article about a Polish detective solving a cold case that leads him into Poland's underworld. Waltz has worked with Polanski on the delightful Carnage, where he outshone everyone else, and it would be very cool to see Waltz do something subdued and grim like this.

5) Oh btw, are you guys listening to our podcast? You can click on the page above named "Across the Universe Podcast" to listen :)

6) I am on such a Bollywood music binge right now, all because of Yeh Jawaan Hai Deewani. This song in particular-

Yes I am plugging a song in a language most of you don't understand about a festival most of you don't celebrate but imagine there's no countries, it isn't hard to do etcetera etcetera. THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!

7) Posters- Well, not actual posters but discarded ones in fact. Spike Lee's Oldboy remake starring Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen and Sharlto Copley didn't use these 4 posters but I think they're pretty cool, especially the trunk one.

8) Trailers- Touchy Feely made by Lynn Shelton who direcred the wonderful Your Sister's Sister, looks just as sweet and touching (haha get it?). This too stars Rosemary DeWitt, along with Ellen Page, Scoot McNairy and Allison Janney. Filth has another awesomely disgusting red-band trailer out. I really want to watch this. The Way, Way Back looks very good too. Loving Steve Carell and Sam Rockwell in it. 300: Rise of an Empire looks as over the top as one would expect. It kind of sucks that the main guy isn't hot but hey, Eva Green is one gorgeous lady. The trailer to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has me concerned as it somehow features more Legolas than Bilbo. Also I disapprove of us not hearing Benedict Cumberbatch's voice in it. Thank god for all the Lee Pace though. Pretty elf is pretty. Naomi Watts-starrer Diana has a teaser out and it looks very boring, though I have faith in her. Aside from her exciting new project, Karen Gillan is also the star of Not Another Happy Ending which looks cute albeit predictable but I love her so I will watch it. Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer star in gangster-family-comedy The Family, erstwhile known as the v. exotic Malavita, and I might watch it. Might. The trailer of the week/fortnight is *obviously* Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine. It looks amazing and I'm really loving Cate Blanchett losing her mind and Sally Hawkins being just awesome. Two Oscars please.

9) Finally, how awesome is Hannibal? And Mads Mikkelsen? I give you-

Mads Mikkelsen

Sads Mikkelsen

Glads Mikkelsen

Bads Mikkelsen

Knee-pads Mikkelsen

Rads Mikkelsen

Plaids Mikkelsen

Cool-dads Mikkelsen

Honestly, I just wanted a lot of Mads Mikkelsen on my blog. Muahahahahaa.

Be careful of what or who you are eating. Good bye!