Part of the gauntlet of programming that originally sounded the death knell of MTV actually playing music videos, Celebrity Deathmatch stabbed its influence into the hearts and minds of a certain generation. Featuring battles between tangentially related celebrities, the claymation show was frequently more clever than anyone every really required it to be. It was enough that ever was a hyper-violent, zeitgeist-obsessed version of Mr. Bill; that there were any jokes at all was enough for millions of stoners and children and child stoners.

After ending its initial run in 2002, Celebrity Deathmatch returned briefly in 2006 before finally succumbing to the injuries of low ratings and a changing world. Still, the world of fame has only grown in in-fighting and vitriol, so it only makes sense that MTV would announce the return of their blood-spattered baby. Celebrity Deathmatch will rise again, this time with an element social media involvement and "hourly Twitter wars," which is just a series of nonsense words, so you might just be better off putting your flannel back on and forgetting about it.

The question remains, though, as to who will be the lucky celebrity to pummel Justin Bieber's face into oblivion. My pick? That monster truck Bigfoot. Well, either him or Eddie Vedder. Anyone with a deep, growling yarl, really. Contrast is king on Celebrity Deathmatch.

Friday, April 17: True Story

I finally got around to seeing The Wolf of Wall Street, recently, and while I wasn't incredibly impressed with the film, overall, what I was surprised by was Jonah Hill's scene-stealing performance. While I had already seen his Oscar nominated performance in Moneyball, I was really taken by Hill's turn as the geek-turned-greed-monster in The Wolf of Wall Street. Hill's been making a self-conscious, concerted attempt to escape from the prison of type-casting as a comedic actor and find richer roles elsewhere.

This trend has continued with the pairing of Hill and James Franco in True Story, which is, predictably, based on a true story. Following Michael Finkel, former writer for The New York Times, who was fired after partially fabricating a story on the African slave trade. A couple years later, he learned that a man named Christian Longo convicted of killing his family had been hiding under the alias of Finkel. True Story follows their relationship as Finkel and Longo collaborate to definitively tell Longo's real story - whatever that may be.

The trailer for the movie seems desperate to convey how important this story is, while also coming across as an ersatz fusion of Shattered Glass and Capote. Still, both Franco and Hill have been incredibly effective actors in the past, and the story is one of those stranger than fiction pieces of work that could inspire a powerful movie-though I think I'd rather see the documentary. In any case, this is one that you'll have to see for yourself when it opens at The Grand Cinema.