Coming Soon? More from the Author of "Gone Girl"

On a trip to Los Angeles last year I met longtime reader Margaret de Larios who, as it turns out, turned our own Anne Marie of "A Year With Kate" fame on to the blog originally. Margaret wanted to sound off on a topic I was very intrigued by so here she is to talk about the mysteriously silent upcoming movie "Dark Places". Say hello! - Editor

In just under two months, Gone Girl will likely be taking cineplexes by storm. The movie's marketing team is not of a mind to let us forget it, slowly rolling out new posters and trailers as well as sending David Fincher out to stoke internet buzz by playing coy about a possible new ending.

But what about the other Gillian Flynn movie, Dark Places?

Because there is another Gillian Flynn movie. And a TV series in development. And a project with HBO. And an original screenplay. And two new impending novels. Gillian Flynn is about to be everywhere and I, for one, plan to welcome our new thriller overlord.  Her work is creepy and uncomfortable and gripping in the best way. It also, significantly, happens to feature a wealth of meaty, nasty female roles. This could portend some long-needed mitigation of the True Detective Problem (or the Hannibal problem or the Breaking Bad problem or the-- well, you get the gist) and be a boon to lovers of actressing everywhere... as long as we finally get to see them produced.

Gone Girl is in the bag and Flynn's every development deal makes news, so whither Dark Places with Charlize Theron? [More...]

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9 Days 'til Emmy Awards: Spin Offs & Ideal Hosts

As we approach the Emmy Awards, a little questionnaire silliness. I polled Friends of TFE and the staff, too. 

1. Which character on which show would you kill to see get their own spinoff series?

Joe Reid: That American Horror Story's Myrtyle Snow never got to be a Project Runway judge is the real shame. But if we're talking whole-cloth spinoff, I really honestly think that Mad Men has stopped being able to give to Joan what Joan gives to the show. Watching her navigate the '70s would be amazing.

 Mark Blankenship: Can we please, PLEASE follow the further adventures of Lincoln (Hannibal Buress) from Broad City? Maybe he can open a free dental dental clinic, and every week, we can see his zany adventures with his patients and their jacked up teeth.

Nathaniel R: I'd follow anyone from Mad Men through the 1970s... and I do mean anyone but I want to focus on shows that are so rich that even the outer periphery characters are awesome so can I pitch shows for?: Nurse Jackie's slutty new drug dealer (Michael Esper); Dawn & Shirley (Teyonnah Paris & Sola Bamis), the new secretaries of Mad Men; that gay hooker from Masters of Sex (Finn Wittrock); Archer's cyborg lovers Katya & Barry

Anne Marie: Freddy from House of Cards gets his own show where he turns his hole-in-the-wall restaurant into a food empire by taking advantage of the shady political maneuvering he's overheard for the last decade.

Jose: Anyone from The Big Bang Theory...oh sorry, I stopped reading after you said "kill". 

Dancin' Dan: All I want for Christmas is "The Taystee and Poussey Make Fun Of White People Show".

How many binge-watching hours would you give that one?

2. Which reality host would you choose to host your real life?

Mark Blankenship: Tim Gunn. Obviously. Because he'd be proud of me if I put together a good look for brunch.

Anne Marie: Betty. Freaking. White.

Nathaniel R: Heidi Klum... but only if she invites me to her annual Halloween bash.

Joe Reid:  This is not a question. This does not need more than a half-second's worth of thought. Cat Deeley now. Cat Deeley tomorrow. Cat Deeley forever.

YOUR TURN... who would host your life and which minor or central characters would you gladly follow up into their own spinoff series?

16 Days Til Emmy: What We're Rooting For

Over the next two weeks we'll periodically be experiencing a little Emmy countdown silliness. But first a matter of who we're rooting for in just 16 days. I polled a few members of TFE's team and my podcast co-host Joe Reid from whom I've learned much about TV (he's an expert) and who still thinks I look down on TV through pinched cinematic nose. Okay, maybe a little... but it is not from lack of quality! It's from other reasons but it mostly boils down to these four: I prefer a two hour commitment as opposed to a one-to-ten year commitment to stories and characters; I like the scope of history of the arts and the cinema has a much richer, longer and more well preserved history (people didn't really think of TV as an art until our lifetimes); I'm more naturally drawn to and more often wowed by movie stars; I despise the false equivalencies people who should know better (critics and journalists) are always spouting about TV vs Film so I am routinely pressed and therefore must take up arms for the cinema!

But otherwise I love TV... or at least "my shows". So let's get to it. Who is Team TFE rooting for in the big categories?

Why I'm Rooting for _______ in Drama Series? (answers after the jump)

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The Normal Heart of True Blood Seasons

Sarah or "Noomi"?Here's Adam continuing the march to True Blood's "true death" in just a few weeks...

Alright, so first thing first, does anybody remember last week’s episode? I was racking my brain trying to remember just what the hell happened, and all I can come up with is Sarah Newlin is the new Jesus and Bill went all Red Eye and stabbed a lawyer through in the throat when he didn’t get his way. So…there’s last week’s recap.

Now, on to this weekend's episode "May Be The Last Time"

True Blood was doing soooo well for a few episodes. Plot lines were moving forward, and when they weren’t, characters were growing and deepening, a real rarity in the True Blood universe. Even if this weeks episode wasn’t terrible lets just say that while watching the episode I became increasingly more entranced by the homemade ice cream I made (just two frozen bananas & almond milk blended in a Magic Bullet! Who knew?) than by what was actually happening on the screen.

In between mouthfuls of my glorified frozen banana puree, these thoughts pop in my head...

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Day 2 at SDCC: Marvel-ous TV & Fox-y Filmmakers

Anne Marie cowering before GodzillaHello again! Anne Marie here, beaming to your computer screens direct from San Diego Comic Con. Though I thought it wasn't possible, it seems as though the convention got bigger and more crowded. So I learned my lesson and stayed far from the exhibition hall today. Instead, I wandered the Gaslamp District, saw some panels, and did some interviews. (More on those later.) But most of all, I waited in line. In a fun way!

Here are 6 new things I that learned today.

1) Marvel TV won't tell us anything about its Netflix shows. This despite the fact that Daredevil is already filming. Either they're saving that for the Marvel panel tomorrow afternoon (which seems unlikely), or Netflix hasn't yet gotten SDCC-friendly. Netflix has been absent from Comic Con this year, which was suddenly more conspicuous when fully five of Marvel's new shows were absent from the discussion: Luke Cage, Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and The Defenders.

2) Marvel TV is throwing all of its weight behind Agent Carter. After Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s rocky first season (do any non-geeks still watch that show?), Marvel is determined to see its new ABC fledgling soar, so the first episode will be directed by Marvel president Louis d'Esposito, while the fourth will be helmed by Captain America director Joe Johnson. Agent Carter will start right where Captain America: The First Avenger left off, with Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) navigating super spydom (and eventually creating S.H.I.E.L.D.) in 1940s America. I have to say, it's pretty cool watching a major studio put so much faith in a female-led show with two lady showrunners, Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters. (Butters and Fazekas share the title with Steve McFeely & Christopher Marcus.) Speaking of female-led shows, Lucy Lawless is joining Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., although even Xena won't be enough to coax me back to it.

3) Comic Con lines are really, really long. People have been lining up for Hall H's Saturday panels since noon on Friday! It's insane. To wit, here's an exchange I overheard (while waiting in line):

Lady dressed like Wonder Woman: Comic Con is just like Disneyland! Big lines, lots of colorful costumes, crappy food!
Gent with a Top Hat: Then where are the rides?
Lady: I guess the line is the ride!

4) 20th Century Fox couldn't quite top last year. In 2013, Fox assembled the entire star-studded cast of Xmen: Days of Future Past to talk about Xmen past and present. This year, the films on the whole could not deliver the same mania. Let's Be Cops gave folks a quick chuckle but little more. Zachary Quinto admitted that he did not play videogames while attempting to promote Hitman: Agent 47, which is based on a videogame. The Kingsmen got more applause on the wait out than the way in, mostly because con favorite Samuel L. Jackson joined new-to-SDCC Colin Firth in an Odd Couple-like pairing. Even Book of Life, despite a beautiful trailer, generated the most applause when Channing Tatum walked in doing the robot. (As they left, executive producer Guillermo del Toro was once again greeted by a chant of "Hellboy 3! Hellboy 3!)"

5) The most buzz came for The Maze Runner. It's based on the YA novel by James Dashner. When star Dylan O'Brien (Teen Wolf) was asked who would win in a fight, Thomas (his character) or Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, O'Brien caused a gasp and a laugh when he admitted that Katniss would win. "He'd run away, but she'd shoot him with an arrow." Comic Con pro-tip: Always reference The Hunger Games or Harry Potter for immediate buzz.

5) Evangelists look a little different at SDCC.

 

Tomorrow I'll be in Hall H all day covering Legendary, Warner Bros, Marvel, and more! Follow me on Twitter for instant updates, and check back here for in-depth news as each panel ends!