- American studios aren’t the only ones who can breathe new
life into a popular spy drama by spinning it into a feature film. On this side
of the Atlantic Ocean, defunct spy series “Veronica Mars” is being made into a
movie and on the opposite side of the ocean, canceled BBC spy drama “Spooks” could get
its own big screen spin-off. Actor Peter
Firth, who starred as Sir Harry
Pearce in the long-running TV show, revealed that the chances for a film
version of the series are high. The shoe was created by David Wolstencroft in
2002 and ran for 86 episodes before ending after its tenth season in 2011. It followed
a team of MI5 officers working from a high-security office complex known as The
Grid. Firth revealed that efforts are underway to revive “Spooks” for a one-off
film. He said "there is a script kind of in the machine" and said
several of the show’s original writers are working on the project. Nothing is
official and the same issue that led “Veronica Mars” creator Rob Thomas to
launch a Kickstarter campaign to fund a “Veronica Mars” movie: fundraising.
Securing a production budget for the “Spooks” movie may also be difficult, but
Firth is firmly behind the idea. "They should make it. It's not like it's
a gamble with this one. But it costs a lot, and there's not a lot of money to
go round at the moment,” he said. As the only actor to feature in all 86
episodes of Spooks, Firth may have an ulterior motive, but some other
well-known British acting names also appeared on the show in recurring rules
and Mathew Macfadyen, Keeley
Hawes, Richard Armitage, David Oyelowo, Hermione Norris and Rupert Penry Jones
could probably be convinced to return for the right price……..
- Adolf Hitler had one and every good World War II-era
dictator had to have one, so news that Italian officials have discovered what
appears to be the last bunker of dictator Benito Mussolini is worth noting. Coming
nearly 70 years after the despot’s death, images and video of the bunker have
surfaced and Mussolini clearly knew how to build himself a quality underground
hiding place. His spacious final hideaway underneath his Palazzo Venezia
headquarters in Rome features nine large rooms was originally discovered during
the renovation of the historic Palazzo in 2010. During the renovation, city
superintendent Anna Imponente noticed a small wooden hatch that led down into a
concrete structure nearly 50 feet below the surface. A tour of the structure
last week suggested that it was probably designed for only a few people, maybe
Mussolini and his mistress, Claretta Petacci. Featuring rough-hewn walls and
clearly unfinished floors and ceilings, the bunker was clearly never finished
and it was also never used by the dictator known as "Il Duce." Work
is underway to make the bunker ready for its public opening, which is expected
this fall. Touring the hideout should give visitors a look at what life could
have been like for the power-hungry Mussolini had he gone the same route as
Hitler, who built his own bunker under Berlin, not far from the Brandenburg
gate. A parking lot and a simple sign identifying the location are atop the
spot where Hitler is believed to have taken his own life near the end of World
War II. That bunker remained unmarked for many years and no one has ever gone
underground to explore whatever remains of it. Mussolini’s newly discovered
bunker, combined with a similar one discovered beneath his Villa Torlonia
residence and opened to the public last year are receiving a much more public
treatment………
- Seeing the United States military rocked by scandal is a
jarring experience for Americans. Having that scandal take place at an
institution tasked with training the next generation of leaders for the U.S.
Army is even more of a stunner – unless that scandal surrounds a bag of stolen
meatballs. The woman at the heart of the scandal is Estelle Casimir, a housekeeper at
the U.S. Military Academy who could face up to two years in jail if convicted
of trying to steal a bag of frozen meatballs. Casimir pleaded not guilty in
U.S. District Court in White Plains, New York and according to her attorney,
she is extremely troubled by the seriousness of the case against her. "She
is very upset," attorney Michael Ferraro said. "We've pleaded not
guilty, definitely." According to court documents, Casimir has been
charged with stealing from the mess hall at the famed military academy in West
Point, N.Y., on January 30. A signed affidavit from the operations manager on
duty at West Point tells a tale of Casimir being spotted attempting to hide a
black bag with her hand. According to the affadavit, the manager asked her what
it was. "Nothing, it is garbage," Casimir reportedly replied. "If
it is garbage why didn't you throw it away near the pantry area, where they
have a dumpster by the door?" the manager asked, according to the
affidavit. When pressed further, Casimir revealed the bag of meatballs. In a
striking coincidence, meatballs just happened to be on the menu that night. She
claimed that she found the bag in a trash container and was going downstairs to
throw it in another dumpster, which seems dubious at best. She now faces two
counts of misdemeanor crimes for stealing property and possessing stolen
property, both of which carry a possible penalty of up to one year in jail and
a $1,000 fine. While her case is adjudicated, Casimir has been suspended without
pay by her employer, Watson Services, which provides food services at West
Point. Ferraro is attempting to reach an agreement with the assistant U.S.
attorney prior to Casimir’s next court appearance on April 19……..
- When college football finally has the first edition of the
Division I playoff that should have taken place years ago, the sparkliest
football palace in all the land is all but certain to host the event. Wednesday was the deadline to submit bids
to host the championship game for college football's new four-team playoff on
Jan. 12, 2015 and only two locations submitted bids: North Texas and Tampa Bay,
Fla. North Texas would be the home of Jerry Jones’ football palace, a.k.a. Cowboys
Stadium in Arlington, Tex. Multiple sources have suggested that Cowboys Stadium
is all but assured of hosting the game, but the BCS commissioners will meet
April 23-25 in Pasadena, Calif., to officially announce the site and other
details about the playoff. Cowboys Stadium, which hosts the AT&T Cotton
Bowl, has such a stronghold on the bidding process that many communities
elected to simply not place a bid at all because they knew it would be a waste
of time. Tampa Bay, which has hosted four Super Bowls and the men's and women's
Final Four, remains in the running but its best chance seems to be pitching the
committee on its merits as a host city for a future edition of the game. College
football will play one final season under the idiotic, poorly designed Bowl
Championship Series system before embarking upon a four-team playoff arrangement
that will begin in the 2014 season. The Jan. 1, 2015, semifinals will be held
at the Rose Bowl presented by Vizio in Pasadena, Calif., and the Allstate Sugar
Bowl in New Orleans, followed by the inaugural championship game. The minimum
seating requirement to bid for the title game was 65,000 and cities are barred
from hosting both a semifinal game and the title contest in the same year……
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