Top Comments appears nightly, as a round-up of the best comments on Daily Kos. Surely you come across comments daily that are perceptive, apropos and .. well, perhaps even humorous. But they are more meaningful if they're well-known ... which is where you come in (especially in diaries/stories receiving little attention).
Send your nominations to TopComments at gmail dot com by 9:30 PM Eastern Time nightly, and indicate (a) why you liked the comment, and (b) your DKos user name (to properly credit you) as well as a link to the comment itself.
A little over a year ago - on the initial reports that there was to be a feature-length film of the old TV series The Man from UNCLE - I wrote about it here at Top Comments, but added a note of caution. The graveyard was lined with promised movies - see "Joplin movie, Janis" - that were never made. Still, hope springs eternal, and the news that veteran screenwriter Max Borenstein was re-writing an old, unused screenplay was a hopeful sign.
At this link is my original diary, with a summary of the show's plot-line, Napoleon and Ilya photos, etc.
One year later: while it still seems at least another year off, there are two names who have gotten involved - and it sounds like they want to have this movie made.
The director Steven Soderbergh is someone I first became aware of over twenty years ago for his film Sex, Lies, and Videotape - which helped change people's attitudes about "indie" films - and won the Palme d'Or at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. Since then, he has had success with such films as Erin Brockovich, then Ocean's Eleven - and Twelve - as well as Thirteen - and for his film Traffic he won an Academy Award for Best Director.
But he has talked about retirement - and wants to go out on top. And that's what has brought him to the point where he's been choosing several films that he wants to go out with:
Magic Mike - starring Channing Tatum in a story of friendship set in the world of male strippers.
Liberace - starring Michael Douglas in the title role.
And yes .... apparently he wants to direct a version of the Man from UNCLE - and interestingly, wants to keep it in the 1960's; not showing it as it would be today. He published a list of all of the films he watched for a year - and included in that list a set of Man from UNCLE episodes he watched.
As you can imagine, this has fans of the series buzzing. On the Yahoo group Open Channel D not everyone is pleased with the idea of a feature film adaptation (and some are even hostile). Yet even amongst those who are either opposed or anxiety-ridden: Steven Soderbergh meets with approval as a director, and the fact that he wants to make as authentic a movie (given the show's history) is a plus.
What meets with notably less enthusiasm: is that Soderbergh wants in the role of Napoleon Solo ... his long-time acting partner George Clooney - and he stated this on a Studio 360 radio interview earlier this year.
Robert Vaughn was in his early-to-mid-30's when he starred as Napoleon Solo - and George Clooney just turned age 50. The James Bond portrayers retired at a certain age (too old to be running around the world) and so this is a bone of contention on many UNCLE fansites. And then, wouldn't the choice for Ilya Kuryakin need to be around the same age? These are among the many doubts about this project.
Nonetheless, these two men appear to want to make this film happen. Will it come to pass? As the old saying goes, "Stay tuned" ....
And now, on to Top Comments:
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From JanF:
smileycreek found the perfect slogan for Newt's presidential campaign - and shared it in jotter's High Impact diary for today.
From blueoregon:
I'd like to nominate this comment by pollbuster - in this diary by LaFeminista. pollbuster had better get the bumpersticker out soon before someone beats them to it...."
From Dreaming of Better Days:
It's been so long since I've laughed here that it would've been an blasphemous if I didn't sent this one in. Corporate Dog had me laughing out loud with this reply from this odd, sad thread from this morning.
From bronte17:
JekyllnHyde presents another great cartoon blowing in the wind... from the sad diary Fukushima Unit 1 is officially in a state of meltdown by Adept2u.
And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening .... ....
In this diary by blue aardvark - asking why is only John Ensign in trouble (over the Doug Hampton spouse adultery affair) and not also Tom Coburn - there was this riposte from mojave mike that yours truly (a Long Island, NY native) ... well, just could not resist: "Mark Sanford likes to vacation in Argentina, but John Ensign prefers the Hamptons".
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