Dwayne Johnson headshot at the  Tribeca Film Festival, April 25, 2009. Credit: David Shankbone (Creative Commons/Wikipedia)

First, I have to say that with all of the links posted, I do not endorse their opinions, whether I agree with them or not. I’m simply providing you with some opinions that are out there. To start this off, let’s talk about three of the highlighted links for this week:

Sammy Davis Jr.’s daughter weighs in on Billy Crystal’s impersonation: The entertainer’s daughter has said that she didn’t see anything wrong with the tribute to her father and thinks he’d be having a laugh about Crystal’s impersonation. She also states that her father loved Crystal’s impersonation the first time around.

America’s Next Top Model and Native stereotypes: A large portion of Native Americans are a little miffed by the producers deciding that Mariah Watchman should dress up in stereotypical “Native American” garb in order to portray Pocahontas.  Click here and here to read more about the issues.

Dwayne Johnson to play Hercules: Collider has the scoop on the next film Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is in talks to star in. He’s not Greek, but he might be playing Hercules.

Below are other links about casting news, TV/Film news, and some Archie Comics news. Enjoy.

Michael Bay Casts An Israeli Supermodel To Play The Female Lead In Pain And Gain

You Offend Me You Offend My Family’s analysis of Asian stereotypes in Two Broke Girls  (Warning: The site, which analyzes how Asian America is viewed through American entertainment,  is run by an Asian American who occasionally uses Asian slur words in a humorous way. If you are familiar with “You Offend Me You Offend My Family,” you’ll know what the site’s about, but if you’re not, now you know.)

Hi-Yo Action! Johnny Depp’s Lone Ranger Finally Starts Shooting

Is Hollywood ‘whitewashing’ Asian roles?

‘NCIS’: Which Agent Came Out As Gay? (VIDEO)

One Million Moms Threatens Toys ‘R’ Us With Boycott Over Archie Comics’ Gay Wedding Issue

CBC Live on the set with cast of Arctic Air

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Pictures found through Google

The Muses from Disney’s Hercules have always reminded me of En Vogue, a popular ’90s girl group (one of my favorite groups, actually).  I guess if we’re going by today’s standards, The Muses would be Destiny’s Child with Calliope as Beyonce, but for me, En Vogue is way more apt, seeing how the film was made during the time En Vogue was still popular.

The characters don’t look exactly like En Vogue, but you get the idea.

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Clash of the Titans is about to come to theaters April 2 (and the 1981 version is out for download on iTunes), probably signaling a revived interest in classical Greek characters and stories. Will new-school Titans go down as a classic among the other Greek stories that have graced Hollywood? Here’s a list of some of the more recent films Hollywood has to offer in Greek-themed movies:

Disney’s Hercules

The story of Hercules has been redone and remade plenty of times, the most thought-of version being the television series that acted as a bookend to Xena: Warrior Princess, but never was the story of Hercules given such a colorful twist as when Disney molded the story to fit its “Love Conquers All” mantra. Sure, the mythology was watered down for children (who wants to see Zeus as the affair-ridden husband and Hera as the harpy they actually were? (although Disney made Hercules’ randy satyr trainer Phil fill in for Zeus’ roving eye)), and Hercules actually killed Megara later on the original story, but the Disney version is the one that makes you happy to know a little bit about Greek mythology as well as the fact that Disney can make any story happy and upbeat. And, come on, how can you hate on Disney when they made Hercules into a cute, naïve farm boy? I dare you to hate!

300

300 is based on the historical Battle of Thermopylae about the battle waged between 300 Spartans and a sea of Persians over control of the land. The graphic novel was groundbreaking, and the movie even more so, if only for the effects used to create a visual reiteration of the graphic novel’s inking and coloring style. Since its big-screen debut, the film has become one of the quotable movies of the 21^st century. Who doesn’t love screaming, “THIS…IS…SPARTA!” or “Tonight, we dine in Hell!”?

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

A newcomer to the trilogy movie set, Percy Jackson, based on the book series of the same name, is about a boy who finds out that he’s related to Greek gods. The movie is poised to take over the spot Harry Potter will leave behind once the last of the movies are rolled out, and it seems like it’s fitting into its upcoming role very nicely already.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Not initially thought of as a riff on Greek literature, Brother is based on the epic The Odyssey, where hero Odysseus travels to mythical places and encounters magical women and goddesses in his quest to get home. In the film, three escaped prisoners embark on a journey to recover $1.2 million one of the prisoners stole from an armored car. The film is now a modern classic, and the soundtrack earned the film an Oscar win.

Troy

While not an esteemed movie by any stretch of the imagination, this film is probably only popular with those who like to see Brad Pitt without a shirt and pants (ditto for Gerard Butler in 300). The film is based on the Trojan War, taking material from the Homer’s Iliad and the Virgil’s Aeneid. Even if the film flopped stateside, it did receive a lot of love from the international circuit.

My Fair Lady, Weird Science, Mannequin

All of these movies vary in how classic they are in the scope of film literature, but they’ve all got the same origins in Greek literature. These stories of men falling in love with women they’ve changed/created is based on the story of Pygmalion from Ovid’s Metamorphoses X, who falls in love with a statue he carved. This story has been riffed on more than just in these three movies; this story is probably the most popular story conceit as well as the easiest to reproduce in different, modern ways.

What other movies can you think of that have been influenced by ancient Greece? While you’re leaving your comments below, don’t forget to see Clash of the Titans April 2, and download the original Clash of the Titans (including a sneak peek of the upcoming remake) from iTunes.

Information from Wikipedia:

Films list

Troy

Pygmalion

Battle of Thermopylae