All My Pretty Precioussses

I think I'm hardly alone in stating the cold hard dead truth that the three Hobbit movies kinda sorta broke my desire to watch Tolkein's Middle-Earth on the big screen anymore -- I couldn't even tell you anything that happened in them at this point; they went right in one eye and out the other. That said I started watching the Prime series, I think just because it landed in a lull in my schedule, and there's been some fun stuff in it. I will give it this -- it looks very expensive. (And given that Bezos shelled out like a billion dollars for the rights I should fucking hope so.) 

Anyway I wasn't really feeling much enthusiasm about Andy Serkis slipping into Peter Jackson's director's chair to make Lord of the Rings; The Hunt For Gollum, yet another big-screen adventure -- this one about the period in the story where Gollum (who else) had already found the ring but before Bilbo got to him and snatched away his Preciousssss -- even as names like Sir Ian and Elijah Wood and Lee Pace started circling a return to the franchise. To get to my belabored point, made even more belabored by the photo up top giving my game away, they've now announced that dreamboat Jamie Dornan will be replacing Viggo Mortensen as "Strider" aka the name his character went by before he embraced his princely panatloons and became the Aragorn we all came to know and love in the original trilogy. 

God this is so much nerd shit I am barfing right now! I need to go chop some wood or something stat. Anyway gorgeous Jamie is always a yes. I don't even care. I will now be watching this damn movie. And that's before we even get to the other two names that just got cast in it -- the queen herself Kate Winslet will apparently be the film's female lead, playing a character named "Marigol" (this site theorizes that she's Smeagol's grandmother), while our beautiful blond boy Leo Woodall will be playing a cohort of Strider's named Halvard. Does this mean this movie will have a lot of Jamie Dornan and Leo Woodall running around together, all bearded and dirty and huddling beside fires for warmth??? Because that's the movie I'm writing in my head, you best damn believe it. 

Good Morning, World

Every view is better if Shirtless Lee Pace is part of it.

Today's Fanboy Delusion

 Today I'd rather be...

... doing as Lee Pace commands. 

Lee Pace Twelve Times

I don't know why I thought this morning's "Glen Powell's Butt" post would be the end of my Running Man posting this week since I offered up my brief opinion on the movie therein -- are you telling me the world doesn't move on once I've laid down my decree? Harumph! But I'll allow a sleazy photoshoot of Lee Pace -- I grant this permission to exist! It's for Bustle magazine and I haven't read the interview yet but if it's anything like the photos...

... then we're in for a real treat. (The above photo is cropped until I can find a better version without type all over it -- you know me and my OCD!) Anyway apparently Lee talks a lot about his wicked side coming out when he plays villains and uhh yeah I guess that's the idea. I was catively annoyed at how they had his face covered up like 90% (is that a spoiler? Yes he eventually takes the mask off) in The Running Man -- as good as the shape of him looks in his fetish gear in the movie we still want that face. Otherwise I start suspecting there's a stunt-man doing everything while Lee's off sipping chamomile in his trailer. Anyway instead of just talking about wanting to look at Lee let's do it! Hit the jump for this really very sexy photoshoot...

Good Morning, World

Yesterday I shared with you a couple of shots from the set of Edgar Wright's The Running Man where Glen Powell was seen running (heh) around in just a skimpy towel -- well I didn't think they'd give up these goods so quickly but in a set video on the film's Instagram account they show the moment where the towel drops and yup, it's just as meaty and delicious as I remembered it being.

For the record I'm not reviewing this movie so all I'll say is it's not great unfortunately -- as a big fan of the original movie who's also aware that it's not a great movie either, a proper re-working really could've been something. This movie's a big mess tonally, and the third act is absolutely butchered to the point where I had no idea what was even happening. It's really too bad. We deserve a nasty black-hearted satire about a game-show host ruining the world dammit! Haven't we earned that much in 2025 dammit? Anyway at least all of the supporting actors are having fun (Colman especially) -- and this isn't meant as any slight to Glen who obviously I enjoy looking at, but it's just a bad move to waste Katy O'Brian the way she's wasted here. You see her on-screen and you just want to follow her off on her story immediately. Alas. Here's that full video:

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Pics of the Day

Two very important photos from the set of Edgar Wright's The Running Man were dropped online (via) -- having seen the film last evening let me just say that the towel sequence highlighted in the film's trailers are highlighted for good reason. Highlight reel (not to mention spank bank) material! Anyway if you haven't given me your opinion on yesterday's THR throuple poll click here and do that! (And click the images to embiggen a bunch!)

Do Dump or Marry: The Running Men

I'm not being show-offy when I tell you that I'm leaving the MNPP HQ desk early this evening so I can run off (get it) to see Edgar Wright's The Running Man remake (now you do) -- I am merely stating a fact, a statement of truth. This is just what is going to happen. I know how crushed this makes you many Schwarzenegger-heads and I apologize. Y'all can see it Friday! If we make it to Friday. Who knows. We all might be performing in life-or-death game shows by then the way things are going. But until then let's play a life-or-death game of our own by "Do Dump or Marry"ing the three hunks at the heart of Wright's re-do who stunned on the red carpet premiere as seen in these photos -- that'd be Colman Domingo, Lee Pace, Lee Pace's Mustache, and Glen Powell. Now [in my best Richard Dawson voice]  RUN... to the comments and choose! (pics via)

5 Off My Head: Siri Says 2008

Now that the festival rush of Fall 2025 is behind me I've been feeling the nagging sensation to check back into our long long too-long running series of "Siri Says" posts -- the last one I did was back in January! These posts have gotten increasingly sporadic as the remaining years have dwindled -- when I checked what's left this morning I saw there were only five years out of one hundred left for us to do. Do what, you ask since it's been so long since I've done one? Well the idea is that I had my phone choose a random number between 1 and 100 and then I picked my five favorite movies from the year that corresponds. Once we got down to the teens the process changed a little because it took too long for Siri to get to a number I hadn't already done, so I wrote the remaining years on slips of paper and picked one with my eyes shut. And that's how we ended up with the year 2008 today.

It's the last year of the Aughts we had left to do -- another decade crossed off! And this is another year when I was actively blogging here at MNPP so there's documentation of my thoughts on 2008's movies already -- click here to see what my favorite movies were at that moment. My list now, seventeen years later, has changed a little! Not entirely, but some. So let's get to it. I give you...

My 5 Favorite Movies of 2008

Synecdoche, New York

(dir. Charlie Kaufman)

-- released on October 24th 2008 --

Let the Right One In 

(dir. Tomas Alfredson)

-- released on December 12th 2008 --

In Bruges

(dir. Martin McDonagh) 

-- released on February 29th 2008 --

The Fall 

(dir. Tarsem Singh) 

-- released on May 30th 2008

Lake Mungo 

(dir. Joel Anderson) 

-- released on June 18th 2008 --

-----------------------------------------

Runners-up: Wall*E (dir. Andrew Snanton), The Wrestler (dir. Darren Aronofsky), Wendy & Lucy (dir. Kelly Reichardt), Mister Lonely (dir. Harmony Korine), Funny Games U.S. (dir. Michael Haneke), The Chaser (dir. Na Hong-jin), Timecrimes (dir. Nacho Vigalondo), Happy-Go-Lucky (dir. Mike Leigh), [REC] (dir. Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza)...

...  Teeth (dir. Mitchell Lichtenstein), Encounters at the End of the World (dir. Werner Herzog), The House Bunny (dir. Fred Wolf), The Ruins (dir. Carter Smith), Doomsday (dir. Neil Marshall), Cloverfield (dir. Matt Reeves), Hunger (dir. Steve McQueen), Reprise (dir. Joachim Trier)

What are your favorite movies of 2008?

I Wanna Run To Glen Powell

The trailer for Edgar Wright's remake of The Running Man -- okay I suppose we can call it a new adaptation of Stephen King's story, whatever -- has arrived and it looks like an absolute blast. I knew I was in for something special the second we saw Glen Powell smacking his tighty-whities-clad ass two times. We kept a running tally of people who got cast in this last year and the names were wild -- Colman Domingo, Josh Brolin, Michael Cera, Katy O'Brian, Lee Pace, Karl Glusman, Sean Hayes, and William H. Macy just to name the bigger names -- but the trailer mainly focuses on Glenn, Michael, Josh and of course Colman in the greatest showman role previously made iconic by Richard Dawson. And is it just me or...

... is Colman going to get a lot of comparisons to Tramell Tillman's showstopping work in the TV series Severance? That's all I could see. But lord knows I love Colman and he seems to be having a helluva time so bring it on. Everything looks hella fun actually -- this is definitely Wright bringing that sweet sweet Scott Pilgrim energy. (And the presence of Cera obviously underlines that.)  I don't think I spotted Glusman or Pace though -- do you think one of them is that masked man with the grenade? I'll have to go back and listen to the voice. Anyway watch:  

The Running Man (2025 edition) is out on November 7th.
How the hell is this not a summer movie???

Take a Lee Pace Lunch Break

I was a really big fan of Lucio Castro's queer romance End of the Century the first time I saw it in 2019 (here is what I wrote about it) and it's only grown better with every successive viewing. So needless to say I was pretty excited when I saw that Castro's new movie After This Death starring Lee Pace was playing at Tribeca this year! It was probably my most anticipated at the entire fest and it did not let me down -- I absolutely loved it, go read my thoughts over at Pajiba. I tried to not be spoilery but to be honest it's kind of an impossible movie to spoil because it's all about the vibe. Even knowing what's going on plot-wise won't get in the weird way of how Castro tells the story. I was enthused, to put it mildly, to see that he's already finished another movie and it played Cannes last month (and a quick scan of reviews showed me people seemed to like it) so we might get it also this year? We deserve this. 

Lee Pace Is Coming...

... back for another season of Foundation! 

And we have a trailer! (And that image -- good grief.)

Foundation returns for its third season on July 11th.

We All Fall For Nosferatu

Some terrific physical media news landing in the last 12 hours (for those of you who know physical media is where it's at, and the rest of you who should learn just that) -- first up we've got the official release info for Robert Eggers' Nosferatu, of which you might have noticed I'm a fan (here is my review) -- this movie is out on VOD right this very moment! So if you missed it in theaters... well I think it's still in theaters, so go to a theater dammit. But if you're not able, rent it now. Fine! But that's not physical -- you can pre-order the 4K blu-ray right here, which streets on February 18th. The disc is loaded with special features, including excitingly an "extended cut" which I believe adds like 20 minutes to the movie? A lot of people complained the film was too long as is but I am not one of those people and can't wait to soak in the world Eggers created a bit longer. My assumption is there will be more of the side characters, and seeing as how the relationship between Aaron Taylor-Johnson & Emma Corrin's characters is a thread I really love in the film that felt a bit too brief to me I'd love more of them. (Anyone saying ATJ is the weak link in the film is incorrect -- I think it's his best work ever.) 

But wait -- that's not all! Another masterpiece got an announcement -- the folks at Umbrella Entertainment down in Austrailia have announced their 4K box-set of The Cell director Tarsem's long long long out-of-print 2006 The Fall starring Lee Pace. This movie basically vanished the movie is arrived, flopping in theaters and barely making a dent on home video but last year a 4K restoration appeared and this is the first announcement of its imminent homeward drop. I am recommending patience and some caution here though if you're in the U.S. -- Mubi released the 4K restoration here in the U.S. and my guess is they'll be dropping a 4K disc of their own here in the States that will be far more reasonably priced and just hasn't been announced yet. I ordered Umbrella's box myself because...

... Umbrella is in my opinion making the best, most beautiful physical media sets in the business right now,. But they are pretty expensive and shipping is outrageous if you don't buy enough to get yourself over the free shipping threshold. What I do is I usually wait for several things to be announced over the course of a few months and then I get them all in one big splurge. Thankfully Umbrella also announced a box-set of Thai horror movies and the tremendous 2004 horror film Shutter (first time on 4K anywhere) so that wasn't difficult this time. These all hit in May -- when Mubi announces the U.S. version I will come back and post again!

In more immediate news -- instant gratification, baby! -- three Quentin tarantino movies hit 4K today, including his greatest film of them all 1997's Jackie Brown. That along with both of the Kill Bill films can be bought on Lionsgate's website, where they've begun putting out special editions of their films! A wonderful development for us physical media nerds when a lot of studios seem to be taking the exact opposite approach and turning their backs on physical releases so they can make you rent occasional access to them on streaming services forever and ever, isntead of woning the damn movie permanently as the movie gods truly intended. We love to see it! Coming up next from Liosgate are special editions of You're Next and The Third Man, which can also be bought at that link. Everybody give Lionsgate a hand!

You Can Run But You Can't Hide From Colman

There are moments -- not often, but more than once -- where I wonder if I might Jekyll out sometimes and sneak off under the guise of a different personality to be a casting director. Some movies just have such Me Casts that I can't imagine anyone else being responsible. Maybe I have a twin I was seperated from at birth and we're communicating telepathically? Anyway that's where I am at today with the news that Colman Domingo has now joined the cast of Edgar Wright's remake of The Running Man -- Colman being perfectly, exquisitely, cast as the evil game show host character that Richard Dawson played in Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1987 (classic as far as I'm concerned) version of the movie. How great is that casting though? Colman has got Game Show Voice and Showman Swag for dayssssss. Anyway he's joining a cast that already includes Glen Powell, Katy O'Brian (our queen from Love Lies Bleeding), Lee Pace, Josh Brolin, Michael Cera, William H. Macy, and my beloved weirdo Karl Glusman. Put this movie down my mouth please!

Keep Running Up That Pace

Enough things coming up Lee Pace (what a phrase) these past couple of days that a Lee Pace post was demanded of me! Firstly his 2006 film The Fall from the director Tarsem has gotten a re-release in theaters  this weekend which has been wonderful news for people like me who have loved that movie since day one and the rest of you who were dummies who didn't see it but now have the chance to. It's also on Mubi but I recommend going to the theater and taking this beauty in on the big screen -- click here for wheres and whens of that -- as I did last night! And it ruled. I hadn't seen the film in quite some time but it rocked my world all over again. On that same note there is a terrific chat with Pace over at The Playlist today reflecting on making the movie so read that! And now we begin our countdown until Mubi drops the 4K disc of the film -- really hoping it lands before the holidays. 

But wait! This is not all of the Lee Pace news fit to print! Yesterday it was announced that he's joining the cast of The Running Man re-do from director Edgar Wright! I just posted about this movie earlier this week because it already gained a hot ass cast with Glen Powell and Karl Glusman and Josh Brolin set to star in it -- now with Lee it's a veritable smorgasborg of beefcake set to slip into those skintight bodysuits. Good work, Edgar Wright -- now just be gayer than usual about it, please. All of that said hey look it's a photoshoot (via) of Lee I've never posted! Let's do that! Hit the jump for that...

Pic of the Day

Pictures have been washing across the internet all week from Thom Browne's fashion dinner that happened a few days ago where he invited a slew of somebodies and had them dress up in his new duds -- I feel as if I should make a joke about everybody being a dish, but let's just pretend I did and move on. I posted a few on Twitter here but the shot I was confronted with this morning really demands its own post given that it stars two of MNPP's long-time most-beloved faves (beloved is one word for what we feel anyway) -- Alessandro Nivola and Morgan Spector. (I'm honestly surprised that I didn't see any pictures of Lee Pace there since this photo was posted on Instagram by Lee's husband, Thom Browne executive Matthew Foley. but then perhaps that's for the best because if Lee had been standing there between those two seen above my frail heart would have poofed into a cloud of golden glitter and that'd be all he wrote, folks.

Good Morning, World

The last time I posted a red hot sexy photoshoot of actor Dino Fetscher I thought I had posted the red hot sexy photoshoot before, and hadn't -- welcome to today also, because I could've sworn I'd done the same with this shoot for Diaries99 magazine, but all I'd posted was one shot right here. (I had tweeted a couple, in my brain's weaker by the week defense.) Anyway this is a crime, and it shall not stand. I mean...

... look at this photoshoot. Red hot sexy doesn't even do the half of it justice. If you're unfamiliar Dino can be seen these days on Lee Pace's red hot sexy Apple+ sci-fi series Foundation, where I am told he plays, much as he does in real life, a gay character (and yes the implication there that I somehow, ridiculously, still haven't started watching Foundation is the correct one, and I am dutifully ashamed by it don't worry) so that's nice. Lovely, even. Might I even say, "red hot sexy"? I might, even. Aaaaanyway hit the jump for the entire worth-the-click shoot...

Good Morning, World

And thank you for making this Monday morning

an acceptable one, Lee Pace. (via)
A happy 45 to him today!

Today's Fanboy Delusion

 Today I'd rather be...

... going mano a mano with Lee Pace.

Lee Pace seems to be very happy that his Apple series Foundation just got renewed for a third season -- he's spent the past day posting behind the scenes photos and videos and we are all very very grateful for it. I guess at some point I should watch more of the show than that one scene where Lee has his big naked fight? (Which is what he's training for in that video, although with slightly more clothing on. Unfortunately!) It's on the list but god the list is more hours than I'd have with ten lifetimes at this point -- I haven't even started Fellow Travelers (starring Lee's old high school buddy and college roommate Matt Bomer) yet for god's sake...

Mmmmmm, you like to show em off pic.twitter.com/iAVaQzAOLx

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) December 7, 2023

Dino Fetscher Five Times

I didn't know that )openly gay) actor Dino Fetscher was on Foundation? Granted I still don't watch Foundation but I wish I'd known that Dino Fetscher and (openly gay) Lee Pace were swanning around on the same set. To anybody who does watch -- do they have scenes together? I won't ask if they have SCENES together because if that were occurring I would have heard; I'm not that far gone. Anyway yes Dino. Dino, Dino, Dino. He's in the new issue of Attitude magazine and he's looking very hot per usual and I have the photos. He also, in his interview, says some necessary stuff about queer kids needing to see queer characters played by queer actors, which I appreciated. Anyway hit the jump for the pictures...

And Good Night, World

I gotta go watch a movie about a bomb now.