This weekend, it’s Speed Racer. This live-action take on the classic cartoon will have you saying, wow! All done with digital backgrounds and green screen work, there’s nothing Speed and his pals can’t do. Colorful, action packed and loads of fun — it’s the definitive “popcorn” flick.

Come May 16, it’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The Prince (Ben Barnes) sets out on a quest to defeat the king and claim his rightful place on the throne, but you can bet it won’t be an easy task. Great storytelling, a strong fantasy tie-in, and gorgeous visuals will makes this one worth seeing (and ficcing about afterward!)

The last week of May goes to that adventurer for all-time, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Okay, so it’s been awhile since Indy donned his hat and went off in search of. . . but he hasn’t lost any of his charm. I predict a flurry of fics exploring the relationship between Indy and Mutt (Shia La Beouf), and then there’s the charming but deadly Agent Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett). I can see the romantic entanglements now. Indy, my boy, we’ve missed you.

In June, it’s yet another Incredible Hulk film. Edward Norton takes on Bruce Banner, and he’s close to finding a cure for his Hulkamania — but wait! There’s an even more dangerous creature on the horizon, The Abomination, and he may be more than even The Hulk can handle. Liv Tyler co-stars, and watch out for some fun cameos from other familiar faces. But will this Hulk capture the hearts of fan ficcers when the last incarnation left them cold? We shall see.

In July, the third superhero movie of the summer hits the big screen with Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman have created a movie that’s a little to the left of mainstream comic flicks, but it might just end up being the big winner of the summer. It’s truly “Hell on Earth” when an army of creatures is unleashed by a ruthless leader from the underworld. Great visuals, more emotion than most, and a deep-sense of character — that’s what sets Hellboy apart. Just ask ePalladino.

On July 18, Batman: The Dark Knight picks up some months after Batman Begins left off. Christian Bale returns as Bruce Wayne, and he’s even darker and moodier than ever before. If that isn’t heavy enough for you, add on the fact that this is Heath Ledger’s last big screen performance and that he was inspired by A Clockwork Orange and Sid Vicious. Yeah, this isn’t your father’s Batman, that’s for sure. Ledger’s involvement will likely bring an audience that might not have seen the film otherwise, and that’s going to translate into huge box office dollars. Will it translate on to the page? Fan ficcers have generally been enamored with films that have larger-than-life characters drawn into dark themes — sounds like The Dark Knight fits the bill.

In a summer just loaded with franchises that haven’t seen the light of day in awhile, you have The X-Files returning to the big screen on July 25. A bit rusty on your Mulder/Scully lore? Don’t worry about. Word is this movie will stand alone, though I imagine you’ll enjoy it more if you were a fan the first time around. And about that kissing sequence caught on film by movie stalkers. . . Chris Carter claims it was staged as a way of faking out the fans. Or, it could be the old double fake-out, and it really is true? Either way, you know this is going to cause a revival in The X-Files fandom, so dust off those UFOlogy books and finish that story you started back in 1994.

And speaking of the franchise that wouldn’t die, Brendan Fraser and (some of the) gang return in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, coming to theaters this August. This time, it’s off to China so they can make good use of co-star Jet Li. Joining Rick on his quest will be his son Alex, who’s a lot more grown-up since we last saw him. Jonathan is back, and Evy is too, but granted she’ll look a bit different. (Word is Rachel Weisz balked at being the mother of a grown son.) Full of action, comedy and excitement, the new father / son dynamic of this film should give fanficcers plenty to write about. And kudos to the first person who writes a story explaining why Evy doesn’t look like Evy anymore.

So there you have it, plenty of action, drama, laughs, and suspense — and that’s just the ride to the movie theater! Tell us, which summer flick are you most looking forward to and which ones will inspire you to write, vid, or draw?

Have fun at the movies. We look forward to seeing what you come up with.

And these here cowpoke are ready to head back to the stable and be voted on:

Ya’ll come back now, ya hear?

Are there characters you love to Whump? That you feel deserve Whumping? Do you feel like you’ve been Whumped?

Allura99

What character in your favorite fandom do you most identify with?

I would have to say Simon Tam from Firefly. Like him, I’m a young doctor. Also social situations can confound me. But thankfully, I’m not on the run from the government. No comment on the crazy sister thing, though.

Who is your favorite creator?

Joss Whedon, hands down. Everything he has done has just blown me away. I can’t wait to see Dollhouse.

What was YOUR first fannish creation?

I didn’t discover fanfiction until I was in high school. After months of reading it, I decided to try my hand at writing. A Voltron fanfic called “The Heart of a Lion” was the very first fanfic I wrote. But my Sailor Moon story “Jupiter’s Gone” was the first I shared with the rest of the world. And the rest, as they say, is history.

What talent would you like to have that you don’t have?

I would love to be able to draw. But anything beyond stick figures is just horrible.

What’s something people would never guess about you?

I’m usually reserved and quiet. However, when it’s time for karaoke, I’m a diva. It’s just so much fun.

We’re also celebrating the start of the summer movie season. Our carousel is themed with fics from some of the blockbusters that will be gracing the big screen in the next few months. And keep watching No Hiatus for our look at the summer movies.

Have a little spare time? There’s still one more week left to enter our Speed Racer contest. Grand Prize is a trip for two to LA! We’d also like to know what you think of the excerpt from the LJ Smith Night World book, Secret Vampire.

And if that’s not enough to keep you busy, we’re still looking for writers to take on our Fandom 411s. Leave your interests in the comments below, and if we haven’t covered it already, we’ll look you up.

TV

British actress Sophia Myles said recently in an interview with the folks at SCIFI Wire that a second season of the CBS hit Moonlight is “all but confirmed.” (Moonlight fans say “Yay!”) Myles plays the troubled love interest, Beth Turner, to Alex O’Loughlin’s troubled vampire, Mick St. John. Myles went on to say that the mostly female fan base could draw in more men by sharing in the sexy nature of the show. “So, guys, tune in, because you’re going to get lucky.” Whatdya say, boys? Watch party?

Movies

Narnia Sweepstakes! Most of you probably know about Prince Caspian coming to theaters May 16th. You may not know that until May 26th, the official movie site offers the opportunity to win a trip for two to the New Zealand set during the filming of the third Narnia flick, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t resist a chance at such a juicy fannish experience. My entry’s in! How about yours?

Gaming

Speaking of Narnia: Caspian is offering fans two original scenes filmed in New Zealand exclusively for the official game of the movie. The scenes include a lesson in Narnia history as told by “Dr. Cornelius.” Platforms include PS3, N:DS, and PC, to name a few. Hmm. I’d better get some more hard drive space so my unit can handle Stargate Worlds and Prince Caspian. Oh yeah, I’m half way between fan and gaming junkie!

Conventions

I jumping ahead of myself on this one, but I couldn’t resist. It’s Armageddon! The Melbourne Armageddon, that is. This uber sci-con, presented by Culture Shock Events, is not for the faint of fandom. November 1st and 2nd at the Expo Center in Melbourne, Australia, fans from all over will converge on one of the hottest new venues in science fiction conventions. You won’t believe the guest list! Are you ready? Here goes: Adam West, David Hewlett, Doug Jones, Ernie Hudson, Susan Eisenberg, Lori Petty, Maile Flanagan, and many, many more! The best of toons, comics, anime, science fiction, and fantasy will all be represented. Sound off if you see your fandom represented! *raises her hand and says “Oh, Me! Me!”*

Future Fandom of the Day

So far, The Sarah Jane Adventures has flown under the radar of writers on FanLib, but I suspect that will not last long, (even if I have to do the writing myself!). The spin-off of Doctor Who features Elisabeth Sladen reprising her role as the companion of Doctors 3 and 4. She and her new friends, Maria Jackson and adopted son Luke, encounter alien life here on earth. Sometimes they fight for their lives and sometimes they fight for the aliens themselves, but whatever the adventure, Ms. Smith and company seem up to the challenge.

Happy R&W!

Marphlets

With a mother diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and living in a nursing home, and a seven year long surgical residency at Seattle Grace Hospital ahead of her, Meredith Grey already has enough on her plate to deal with. But what happens when her drunken one-night-stand the night before her first shift turns out to be her new boss? Will she fall for his charm or manage to maintain a strictly professional relationship?

Grey’s Anatomy is a medical drama (oh, I can hear you already; ‘oh, no, not another one’), but unlike previous shows in the same category, Grey’s focuses mainly on the interns, the grunts, the bottom of the surgical food chain: their ambition, their drive, their ability to screw up something fierce. Show creator Shonda Rhimes said that one of the reasons she wanted to make this show was firstly, because of her fascination for watching filmed surgeries and secondly because she thought it would be more interesting to show a different side of a hospital than the existing medical shows did, where the main characters aren’t established doctors/surgeons, but rather people still in the middle of the learning process.

The show is mainly told through Meredith’s (Ellen Pompeo) eyes, and focuses on her and fellow interns: Christina Yang (Sandra Oh), Isobel Stevens (Katherine Heigl), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) and George O’Malley (T.R. Knight), their friendship, their rivalry and their individual struggles to make it through one of the toughest medical programs there is.

Other featured characters are (starting with my favorite character) the five interns’ resident, Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), often referred to as “the Nazi”; the attendings Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) and their rivalry over who’s to become the next Chief of Surgery; and finally, the current Chief of Surgery, Richard Webber (James Pickens, Jr.).

As for why I love this show so much, I first have to point out that I’m not a fan of medical dramas at all, but for some reason, this show just pulled me in. I find the characters highly interesting, and I guess I can just relate to that hopeless feeling you have when you start a new job and feel like you’re the only person who has no idea what to do. The characters feel human, feel reachable. They are not on some pedestal, but rather are just as big of a screw-up as the next person; it feels empowering to then watch these characters find a way to deal with their screw-ups, overcome their fears, and just do whatever it takes to get the job done, to save a life.

Fan fiction for this fandom is mainly split into three types of stories. First there are medical-focused stories, where the plot generally centers around one or more abnormal medical cases. Then there are the more character-based stories, looking into the past or the current struggle with a particular character. And then, of course we have the romance stories, which happens in pretty much every fandom. Here we can find popular pairings, such as; Meredith/Derek, Christina/Burke, Izzie/Alex, and Addison/Derek to name a few.

The thing to be careful about when writing for this show, which is the main reason I haven’t attempted writing a fanfic for it, so far, is the medical aspect of it. The main scenery in the show is set at the actual hospital, and for most longer stories that aren’t AU, hospitals scenes are more or less bound to come up. Grey’s Anatomy, like any other show, uses artistic liberty to bend the truth of the world they are portraying, such as recovery time, but the actual medical cases presented in the show are thoroughly researched to match real-life cases. So to do the show justice, a background in health care or friends in that sector would be very helpful. If not, then research will just have to be your friend.

To get the goods on this lesser known comic hero, I called upon SFUniverse’s sultan of superheroes, the swami of summer movies, Mr. Brian Allen, and here’s what he had to say:

“A caricature of Howard Hughes, Tony Stark is a hero in the classic Marvel tradition: supremely flawed. His Iron Man armor is not only the source of his super powers but a life support system that keeps his damaged heart working. Stark also battles alcoholism, the kind of issue not dealt with in most comics during his origin period in the 1960s. It’s alluded to in this movie but reportedly won’t become a big problem until later in the series.

That made Robert Downey Jr., who’s had a round or two with substance abuse himself, the perfect actor to play Tony Stark. He leads an A-list cast including Gwyneth Paltrow as Stark’s love interest Pepper Potts, Jeff Bridges as rival businessman Obadiah Stane, and Terrence Howard as Stark’s ally, James Rhodes.

Jon Favreau, a Daredevil cast member and self-proclaimed comic book geek, is rumored to have done an excellent job with the material. Favreau gets the essence of the character. So his movie likely won’t have strange additions like Ang Lee’s Incredible Hulk being extremely fast and growing in accordance with his rage.

Critics that have seen the film already have heaped a great deal of praise on it, some comparing the aerial fight scenes to the acrobatics in the Spider-Man trilogy. Spidey had some of the best and most authentic comic book style fight scenes ever, so that’s no faint praise. All indications are this one will be a blockbuster for Marvel Comics.”

When it comes to fan fiction, there’s nothing more intriguing than a flawed hero, and it sounds like Iron Man has that down pat. Expect to see stories with plenty of angst, likely darker than the movie itself and a few romantic tales between Stark and Pepper. Between the comics and the live action movie, fan artists have plenty to work with and drawings of Iron Man in action reign supreme. Paramount has even included a fan artwork gallery on the film’s official website if you need some inspiration to get you started.

Have a fannish effort to share? The Iron Man section of FanLib is open and waiting for you.

These contests are open for submission, but only until next Thurday:

The submission period for these is over, but the voting and rating continues, at least until sometime in the next week. Show some love, vote baby vote.

I think both points of view are silly. The rep is being disingenuous, and the parents are being hypersensitive. It’s just letters in an ad campaign. Personally this is one of those moments where I think parents should spend more time with their kids, if they’re so concerned, and less time going on media junkets.

Oh yeah, and I was really bothered by the assertion that OMFG is an acronym; it’s an initialization. Only initializations that we say as words are acronyms, eg: POSH, SNAFU, NAFTA, etc, not FBI, CIA, or OMFG. Sorry, but you all know I’m pedantic by now. (Editor’s note: I believe the term is abbreviation, as I can’t find “initialization” in my dictionary.)

Besides, what’s the big deal? Obviously OMFG only stands for one thing, Oh My Favorite Giraffe.

Post Script: How ironic that I use the wrong word while being pedantic about word use.  I meant initialism.