|
Veronica Mars News and Links
Explore the World of Noir
We love lots of things about Veronica Mars – the sharp characters, the biting dialogue, the twisty mysteries, the tortured relationships – but one of the things that cemented our love for the show was its unrepentant film-noir attitude. Think about it: Veronica is an outsider living in a bleak world, and nothing can be taken for granted. She deals with femmes (and hommes) fatale, official corruption and an outwardly sunny society that's got one heck of a dark underbelly.
While Veronica is taking her well-earned vacation (hey, she caught a couple of serial rapists and broke up with her boyfriend in the same week – the girl needs a break), we're sating our film-noir urges with new and classic takes on smart-mouthed outsiders taking on the big, bad world. Check out the following titles to satisfy your bleak mystery cravings.
The closest thing
Want to meet the male Veronica Mars? Watch Brick. Brendan Frye, a too-smart-for-his-own-good high-school outsider who's investigating the death of his ex-girlfriend. Add in psycho strong men, drug dealers, femmes fatale, whip-smart dialog and a twisty plot, and you've got one of the best movies of the past couple of years. We loved it.
The classics
If you haven't seen some of the classic film-noir gems, you're in for a treat –- albeit a cynical, somewhat depressing, the-world-is-a-cesspool kind of treat. Think of it as a way to counteract all the forced good cheer this time of year. Any of these titles will take you on a hell of a twisty, mysterious ride:
Sunset Blvd.
The Third Man
Double Indemnity
The Maltese Falcon
Touch of Evil
The Big Sleep
Notorious
Laura
The Lady from Shanghai
Neo-Noir
The golden age of film noir ended in 1960, but there were plenty of neo-noir masterworks that came after. Check out these flicks for a slightly more modern take on noir:
Chinatown
Body Heat
The Grifters
Blood Simple
LA Confidential
Fargo
The Big Lebowski
Blade Runner
Blue Velvet
Sin City
Have your own noir picks you want to share? Post your comments on The CW Source blog!
Spoiler Alert, Radio Interviews, and More
Spoiler alert! E!Online's Kristin talks to Jason Dohring and another notable Logan, who'll be showing up on Veronica Mars in the near future. Don't click if you don't want to know!
Kristen Bell talks to Kevin and Bean on radio station KROQ about ratings, "Boom goes the dynamite," upcoming guest stars – and getting smacked in the face for the good of the show.
MacLean's magazine praises Veronica Mars as one of the few show son TV with a father figure worth watching. ""As clever as we play Veronica, we always try to play Keith one step more clever," said show creator Rob Thomas. "Veronica's very, very smart, and yet her dad is still her dad."
Veronica Mars Makes the Critics' Picks List
We love Veronica Mars, and the critics do, too. Here's just a sampling of the praise critics have heaped on the show in advance of the season premiere:
"The writing is unfailingly hysterical and clever, and 'Veronica Mars' cast is without a doubt one of the most likable on television -- Logan (Jason Dohring) being the most beloved of the bunch."
Read more at Seattlepi.com!
"Funny, intelligent, scary and many other positive adjectives that don't really do it justice. This show manages to walk the line between teen drama and noir thriller with equal facility for both genres."
Read more at laist.com!
"'Mars' is whip-smart, funny and cynical enough to make me believe its writers actually went to high school.… I am begging you to watch this show. Begging. On my knees. I will even give you a dollar if you e-mail me with your favorite line to prove you watched. (Well, actually not, but I will give you a blow-by-blow account of what I love about the show if you're not convinced.) It's engaging, believable, entertaining and has some of the best one-liner delivery on television."
Read more at azstarnet.com!
 The Making of "Mars"
Rob Thomas was all over the press this week pushing the new season of Veronica Mars. He laid out some hints about what's coming up, and we just had to share:
First, Thomas gave TV Addict some hints about the mysteries we'll see Veronica solve this season. "There won't be a concurrent, parallel mystery," Thomas elaborates. "With the [shorter storyline arcs], it doesn't have to have a cast of 100. You can have four or five suspects and feel like it's fleshed out. We won't have the same confusion this year."
So what will those mysteries be? First off, Veronica tackles the serial, head-shaving rapist at Hearst College, her new school. Plus, Keith will be working on Kendall's mysterious briefcase. And the third mystery? Thomas isn't telling, but he did drop this hint: "I love both Liam Fitzpatrick [played by Rodney Rowland] and Danny Boyd [played by Taylor Sheridan], and I expect to see a little bit of them this year." We can't wait.
Thomas also talked to Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan about new characters we can expect:
"It's kind of a show that, for lack of a better term, needs new blood every year. Otherwise you'd have a big mystery happening to the same six people each year. So this year we have Ed Begley Jr, he's joining the cast as the dean of Hearst College. He's the dean. He sort of occupies the space of a Steve Guttenberg or a Harry Hamlin in the cast, he certainly has a lot of screen time and we're loving what he's doing on the show.
"And Veronica's criminology professor, played by Patrick Fabian, he is going to be a recurring adult character. There are two new young series regulars, Parker and Piz. Parker is Mac's roommate and Piz is Wallace's roommate….he's sort of a happy go lucky, cheerful, Labrador retriever of a guy."
Read more of the interview!
Finally, Thomas laid out his strategy for the season opener to the New Jersey Star-Ledger:
"The network this year really wanted us to focus on the mystery of the week and make them promotable, which is fine. We need some promotion. The theory has always been that the ongoing mystery is for the 'Veronica Mars' fan; the mystery of the week is for the casual viewer. What they want to be able to promote is Veronica going undercover with sorority rush, that makes for a good promo for the casual viewers."
The season premiere, with Veronica matriculating at nearby Hearst College and helping Wallace's new roommate Piz track down his stolen possessions, starts more lightly than usual.
"I call it 'Veronica Mars' for beginners. It says, 'Please, "Gilmore Girls" fans. We're not too complicated or weird. Look -- playful banter between parent and child, et cetera, et cetera.' And then we get into our first arc near the end."
Read more!
© 2007 The CW Television Network
Copyright © 2008, Tribune Interactive
|
