Jeffrey Dean Morgan Headed To ‘Magic City’

He’s played a tender heart transplant patient-turned-possible specter (or cancer-induced hallucination) and a mysterious paternal figure on the small screen before – now Jeffrey Dean Morgan is poised to travel back in time and handle the Miami crime scene circa the 1960s in Starz’ upcoming period drama, Magic City.

Morgan is on the verge of signing on for Starz’ new series, which the cable channel’s execs seem to be hoping will be their answer to HBO’s early 20th century show about illegal deeds and government corruption, Boardwalk Empire.

Magic City will revolve around Jewish-American hotel boss Ike Evans (the role Deadline says Morgan is in final negotiations to play), a man who aims to just make a living and raise his family in the world of mid-20th century Miami. That’s easier said than done as Evans has to handle an onslaught of scheming politicians, dangerous mobsters, and other less-than-respectable types who flock to the glitzy Florida town in the wake of Fidel Castro’s rise to power in Cuba – and his subsequent shutdown of Havana as a gambling haven.

Morgan is well known for his turn on Grey’s Anatomy as Denny Duquette – a patient who left an indelible mark on Izzie’s (Katherine Heigl) life – and his part as the father to Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) on Supernatural. Movie fans might also recall that Morgan (flirtatiously) sparred with Zoe Saldana in last year’s The Losers, but are more likely to recognize him from his part as the sadistic Comedian in Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Watchmen.

Morgan as The Comedian.

Scarface immediately jumps to mind when the words “drugs, mobsters, and Miami” are dropped in a conversation, but Magic City reads like something more akin to The Sopranos than that iconic Al Pacino vehicle. Between this show, the 300-inspired Spartacus: Blood and Sand, and Starz’ new take on the Arthur legend, Camelot, it’s clear that the cable channel is fashioning itself as a rival to HBO by offering a diverse, often gritty lineup of TV series and entertainment.

It will also be interesting to see how Magic City‘s portrayal of 1960s-era America differs from the glistening world of suave ad specialists in Mad Men and NBC’s upcoming period drama about Hugh Hefner’s infamous Chicago-based clubs, Playboy. The 60s are quite alive and well on TV, it seems.

Magic City will shoot on location in Miami and is scheduled to premiere in 2012.

Source: Deadline

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The magic of software (interview with Word Lens inventor)

Have you ever seen magic? I have and once in a while I see magical software.

Over on Quora we were discussing just what software is magical, but here we have an even newer example: Word Lens, which translates Spanish to English (and vice versa) in real time on your phone.

Here the inventor, Otavio Good, talks about that “the magic comes out of video translation and no one else has done that yet.”

Now, this isn’t perfect, and in the interview you’ll see Otavio lays out why it isn’t, but I am more amazed that this works at all, than the fact that it doesn’t work in all situations.

Anyway, over on Quora you’ll find some other magical software and I’m definitely looking for more. Got some magic? Let me know scobleizer@gmail.com

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Starz Picks Up ’60s-Era Miami Mobster Series ‘Magic City’

Looking back to a bygone era when mobsters ruled the Miami landscape, Starz has ordered ten episodes of Magic City, a new 1960s-era drama from a cable network still angling to successfully rival premium peer HBO in the original content department.

With Party  Down, Spartacus, and Head Case already carrying the Starz original programming banner, Magic City will take the period-piece lead of Boardwalk Empire and borrow a page from Showtime’s Dexter, which similarly focuses on the mean streets of Miami.

According to executive producer Mitch Glazer, Magic City revolves around Miramar Hotel boss Ike Evans, whose entanglements with mobsters and even some within his own family complicate a life already dramatized by Miami “dopers, dealers, strippers, gangsters and those who arrest them.” Some TV critics, naturally, already doubt whether a period piece invested so heavily in the Miami nightclub scene can result in a winner for Starz. But if Boardwalk Empire, HBO’s hit series set in Prohibition era Atlantic City, can enthrall audiences, the prevailing logic at Starz is that a show like Magic City can too.

A Miami Beach native familiar with and enamored by the “magic” of his childhood stomping grounds, Glazer says Magic City has the potential to deliver riveting dramatic content.

Said Glazer:

“I was born and raised in Miami Beach, grew up in those swank hotel lobbies. I love that world and those stories…Miami in the early ’60s was a tropical crossroads, America’s Casablanca – the Rat Pack, CIA, the mob, JFK and anti-Castro warriors – all hanging out in the same Collins Avenue nightclub.”

An anomaly of sorts among contemporary Miami-based film and television projects, Magic City will actually be shot on location in Miami beginning next year, in hopes of an early 2012 series premiere.

A man who knows all about the Miami crime and club scenes.

According to Starz President Chris Albrecht:

“Mitch has created a world populated with unforgettable characters and with a big, dynamic story…The talented creative team that has come together for Magic City will ensure a show that we think audiences won’t want to miss.”

Glazer is famous for his producing and writing work on films including Scrooged, Great Expectations, The Recruit, and Lost in Translation.

Magic City hopes to hit the airwaves sometime in early 2012.

Source: Variety

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Ministry of Magic and Wizard Rock

November 24th, 2010 | Twitter

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Jon Favreau Looks To Direct Disney’s ‘Magic Kingdom’

Actor/writer/director Jon Favreau has been at the helm of movies about elves, magical board games, men in robot suits, and a wild west battle that involves extraterrestrials. So is a film about Disney’s classic Magic Kingdom attraction the logical next step?

We’re not sure if there’s a proper answer to that question, but Favreau is reportedly in talks with Disney to direct their Magic Kingdom movie, which was originally scripted by Battlestar: Galactica‘s Ron Moore but is being rewritten under the Iron Man filmmaker’s supervision.

Deadline says that the plan is for work on Magic Kingdom to commence while Favreau completes post-production work on Cowboys and Aliens. It’s not yet clear where Iron Man 3 – which, presumably, Favreau is all but a lock to direct – fits into the schedule, but that threequel is not slated to hit theaters until 2013, so Disney might have a 2012 release date in mind for Magic Kingdom. The Mouse House owns Marvel and acquired the distribution rights for Tony Stark’s third outing a while ago, so it has a fair amount control over Favreau’s production schedule right now.

Favreau has a good deal of experience handling big-budget, FX-heavy flicks by now and his resume as a director includes the family-friendly fantasy adventure Zathura: A Space Adventure (a.k.a. Jumanji in outer space) and Will Ferrell’s holiday comedy, Elf. Odd as it may seem, the man is an ideal candidate to take on the challenge of turning the Magic Kingdom into a full-blown moviegoing experience.

Favreau's 'Zathura' starred a pre-'Twilight' Kristen Stewart.

Disney also has a Haunted Mansion film adaptation in the works, as well as a Tiki movie (which the company claims is NOT based on the Enchanted Tiki Room, but there’s good reason to doubt that claim). We’ve also heard rumblings about a Jungle Cruise movie being in the works and wouldn’t be surprised if Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain look to make the jump to the big screen in the future as well.

The immense financial success of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is in no small part to blame for these other ride-inspired projects; however, the company has always loved a movie with instant marketing tie-ins, so the finger of blame can’t be pointed solely at the adventures of Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow (besides, we still love that guy).

Coming soon to a theater near you.

We expect Disney will aim to release Magic Kingdom sometime in 2012. Do you think the project has potential?

Source: Deadline

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