well, as we are at the start of a new year, why not speculate on things that will happen, as well as mention things that would be quite class if they did happen?
if one starts with music, well then there really is only one possibly massive but still unconfirmed event.
ladies and gentlemen, The Rolling Stones. it's been well documented that 2012 is their 50th anniversary as a band; there's even more been spoken of the fact that thus far the band have confirmed nothing in the way of celebrations. we can but hope.
things not going so well between Jagger and Richards at the moment does not help something happen, of course, but then again things not going at all well between the two is nothing new, and certainly hasn't stopped them in the past. as the band members remain on good terms with the two surviving ex-Stones, Mick Taylor and in particular Bill Wyman, it would be something if all living Stones could get together. even if it's just a one off gig or similar, just put everything aside and celebrate what they have done.
2012 has some pretty interesting reunions lined up already, of course. yes the obvious one will follow shortly, but other than that the Beach Boys appear to have confirmed some "50th anniversary" concerts, and it seems Pink "we will never play together ag...oh, is that some money?" Floyd are all set to reunite and play at the London Olympics.
i do wonder if there's any chance of these two doing something, then?
setting a formation year for The Beatles is rather tricky. if we take that their celebrated Red compilation sets a start date as 1962, i guess then that as far as someone somewhere is concerned this is a 50th anniversary year for them.
there is no way, of course, that the two would even contemplate releasing anything "new" in the name of The Beatles, but it's not like either are adverse to playing together now and then.
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr knocking off a song or two and releasing a single could be an interesting thing. it might help reclaim the charts back from a whole load of ringtone rubbish and return them to us music lovers.
and, of course, the bit you knew i would write of. the single biggest music news story of 2011 now turns to the most anticipated release of 2012, does it not?
the idea that The Stone Roses getting back together for some concerts was a simple pay-day was kicked out by the band signing record deals. this is to be no nostalgia trip, then - the band are back as a proper band. the fact that they have signed with a label in the USA is very interesting indeed. at the time they didn't sell all that many records Stateside, i can only guess the legacy and legend of the band has grown their over time to the point where there's now a market.
for all sorts of reasons, what The Stone Roses record and release needs to work. Ian Brown has commented that his solo career is "parked, not over", but Boby Gillespie has confirmed that Mani's departure from Primal Scream is permanent, albeit on good terms. this has been a very big price to pay for the dream of the Roses reunion; go listen to Vanishing Point, XTRMNTR and Evil Heat to understand why.
Kasabian, arguably the only band at the moment to care for Rock as both fun and an art form, have spoken of music being in a lull at present. one can only hope any or all of the above being successful enough to inspire the next generations of musicians to become rock legends.
as far as television goes, well, i would really only hope that they make thousands of new episodes of Storage Wars, as it is excellent. Yuuup, it is. if i could have just one wish or hope for TV in 2012, it would be just one small thing in one episode.
House is about halfway through its 8th series now, and if we are honest about it the show is running out of steam. i am not sure how many more series, if any, shall follow the current. time, thus, is running out for a cameo appearance that many, many people would love to see.
it may mean little to the large American audience, but for the rest of the world Stephen Fry cropping up - in a substantial part or just a background cameo - would be, if i have got the term correct, fanboy heaven. if it could be done with that ace song from A Bit Of Fry And Laurie, the hysterical Mistry / Mystery, well then so much the better!
it's a surprise they've not arranged for a cameo before now, one can only hope they do before the series has truly run its course.
over at the cinema, and there's really just the one place to begin, really. there's a huge weight of expectation resting on the shoulders of one film, and somehow those expectations seem to be getting met by all the images and trailers released thus far.
when Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins was released it took quite a few by surprise. it was celebrated, but people feared it could not be matched by the sequel. then along came The Dark Knight, which is regarded as one of the greatest films of all time in any genre. can that be topped?
a third "super hero" film has been a bit beyond most, really. Superman III and Spiderman III, whilst having some good points, were mostly average and failed in comparison to the previous films. "In Nolan We Trust" is a mantra from the net, however, and so far the signs are very, very promising.
a film that many are seeing as promising but i have huge concerns around would be Prometheus, which in a worst case sees the very welcome return of Sir Ridley Scott to the cinema.
the visuals and minimalist trailer do make this look like an astonishing visual treat, certainly more so than that false promise which was the now mostly forgotten rubbish of Avatar. and it's with good reason that i mention that horrid film.
my concern about Prometheus is the amount of fannying about Ridley has done. when the project first came about his words were "well, we do not have a script or story, but i can tell you it will be in 3D". how sad that one of the greatest visualists in cinema is more concerned with a novetly effect rather than a concrete story.
there's also the "well, is it or isn't it" question as to if this is a film in its own right or an Alien "prequel". will it matter either way?
and speaking of prequels in 3D......
considering the outcry, backlash and to a degree over-reaction to the minor yet significant changes George Lucas has made to his own films (something the fanboys forget), the mind boggles as to what reaction awaits the decision to convert all 6 Star Wars films into 3D.
of major concern would be the fact that converting existing films into this fancy novelty of 3D simply does not work. the bad box office figures for 3D films, new and old, suggests that thanfully this fad is passing, and fast. as Star Wars is box office gold (to put it mildly) you'd have to argue this is really make or break for the format.
if nothing else, hopefully the re-release of The Phantom Menace will allow for many to see the film again and realize that it is not quite as bad as ardent fanboys would have you believe. really, it is rather good indeed.
and, finally, please just let this film be "not too bad".
there's a huge level of excitement for The Avengers. and why shouldn't there be? of those super heroes that feature in it, Iron Man, Thor and Captain America have already had their own recent, superb films. erm, there were also two Hulk films, and they were less than superb.
overloading films of this nature with multiple heroes and villains tends not to work out as well as you may think. the very worst was of course Batman And Robin, which was a mess. some, of course, would argue that the X-Men films, in particular the first two, show off that many heroes and villains in one film can work. really? as great as those films were, they worked by having the focus on only one or two of the characters, with everyone else being given a mostly minor background part. this was the trick used with the Ocean's films - yeah, sure, an ensemble cast, but really the emphasis is just always on George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
my guess is that The Avengers will be all Robert Downey jnr, closely followed by Samuel L Jackson. further, it will be that they shall always seem to have prominence, or if it turns out they weren't fussed beyond the paypacket, the comments shall relate to how little screen time they have.
i am unconvinced that this film is going to be as good as any of the films mentioned a paragraph or two ago, but as both James and William think this looks like it will be the crowning moment of everything awesome, i shall be getting little choice than to see it, and more than once. please just let it be at least bearable.
beyond that lot, there's all sorts i could have hoped for - the new James Bond being good, for instance, along with David Bowie popping up to say "hello", or brothers Liam and Noel just packing it in and being polite about each other. all reasonable wishes, as preposterous it is to think that the last one there has any chance at all.
whatever 2012 does bring, let's just hope it's ace!
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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