On the Big Board |
Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
110/166 |
David Mumpower |
It misses the mark, but not by as much as I was expecting. Once the mystery is revealed, the whole affair does feel rather absurd, though. |
Back in 1991, a strange little show known as Liquid Television debuted during MTV's late-night programming block. A compendium of animated shorts, the show is perhaps best known for introducing Beavis and Butthead to a devoted audience that helped push it to pop culture fame when it was spun off as a standalone series. The teen terrors were so trendy that they even got their own feature length film.
Somewhat lost in all the Beavis and Butthead hoopla is the fact that there was another Liquid Television short that developed a small but dedicated fan base as well as its own regular series. Aeon Flux, the trippy, futuristic show about an assassin with a cool attitude and tight clothes, showed a strong Japanese influence and was so ultra-violent that it's probably much of the reason the show was relegated to late-night programming when the kiddies were safe in bed.
Now, many years after the character's first appearance on MTV, Aeon Flux will be getting her own big screen adaptation. Since producers at MTV/Paramount wisely realize that an animated version would be largely ignored by the teens/adults it would target, the movie will be a live-action special effects extravaganza.
Fresh off of her Academy Award win for her creepily convincing performance in Monster, the lovely Charlize Theron will follow the Angelina Jolie path to career success by accepting a $10 million paycheck to play Aeon Flux's title character. Similarly, Jolie transformed herself into sexy videogame icon Lara Croft after taking home a Supporting Actress Oscar for Girl, Interrupted.
Given that the Aeon Flux series was partly notable for the fact that its heroine died in every one of the Liquid Television episodes (a precursor to Kenny in South Park, if you will), it will be fascinating to see how her story is handled. Screenwriters Matt Manfredi & Phil Hay, co-writers of crazy/beautiful (that's good) and The Tuxedo (that's bad) have offered up a mixed bag thus far, but surely they can at least put out a better script than Lara Croft: Tomb Raider had. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
June 7, 2004 Academy Award winner Frances McDormand has joined the cast. She will play the leader of the rebellion and Aeon Flux's handler. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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