The 168 Turnaround: Attack Of The Killer Planet—Call The Governator!

THIS WEEK: Apr 3 – Apr 9, 2011

DR. SEUSS: For many of us, Theodor Seuss Geisel (otherwise known as Dr. Seuss) and his dozens of children’s books are a fondly remembered part of our early childhood.  Whether it be The Cat In The Hat or How The Grinch Stole Christmas or any number of the 44 books he published, those wacky rhymes have left their mark.  Now comes news that Random House will soon be publishing The Bippolo Seed and other Lost Stories, a collection of seven Dr. Seuss stories that were only ever published in a handful of 1950’s magazines.  Speaking about the collection, Random House vice-president Kate Klimo said, “The stories are as good as anything in the already-published canon and readers of all ages are in for a treat.”  I hope she’s right—God knows, sometimes “lost” stories should stay lost.  In any event, The Bippolo Seed and other Lost Stories will hit bookstore shelves on September 27, 2011.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: He told us he’d be back, and now he is…for better or worse.  Personally, I was hoping former bodybuilder, actor, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger would lay low for awhile, and maybe consider retiring to a small villa off the coast of Mexico.  Alas, Ahnuhld is making a comeback.  But instead of stepping onto the set of an action movie, he’s taking on the world of children’s animation—think Saturday morning cartoon. And can you guess the title?  That’s right, it’s called The Governator—Arnold plays a former Governor-turned-crime fighter.  If you’re interested, Entertainment Weekly has the full story.  Otherwise, the cartoon’s trailer (which was released just this week) can be viewed here (UMG doesn’t allow the video to be embedded).

MELANCHOLIA: Danish film director and screenwriter Lars von Trier is…well, he’s an acquired taste.  Known for embracing controversial subject matter, Trier is often a polarizing filmmaker, especially for mainstream audiences (if you saw his last film, Antichrist, then you know what I mean).  At the very least, his films spark great conversations about art and filmmaking–to my mind, the more divisive the better.  And now comes the trailer for his latest film, Melancholia.  The movie, starring Kirsten Dunst and Kiefer Sutherland, is a disaster drama that follows several people as they try to come to terms with the possible destruction of Earth.  Melancholia will be released later this year.  (Viewers be warned, the trailer contains two brief scenes of nudity).

THE HANGOVER: PART II: Speaking of trailers, did you catch the trailer for The Hangover: Part II (featured in last week’s The 168 Turnaround)?  Were you by any chance offended by some of the imagery or jokes?  If so, then you weren’t alone.  In an effort to appease the fine folks at the MPAA, Warner Bros. has pulled from theatres the first trailer for it sequel to 2009’s The Hangover.  “In our haste to meet the placement schedule for this trailer, we failed to properly vet the final version with the MPAA,” Warner Bros. said.  “We acted immediately to correct the mistake and removed the trailer from screens.”  In retrospect, including in the trailer a scene with a monkey performing a simulated sexual act (i.e. “nibbling on the wenis”) was probably a bad idea.  But, as the saying goes, it’s easier to beg for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission.  For more info, click here.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Shopping Cart Race Fail
It’s been too long since we’ve had a fail video for our Video of the Week.  And so I remedy the situation with this week’s video, “Shopping Cart Race Fail.”  Is it strange that my first thought was to question why these fine gentlemen weren’t wearing helmets?  Apparently, sitting two guys in a shopping cart and then pushing them down a hill is not only a good idea to me, but a normal one.  In my defence, I’ve always worn a helmet.

The 168 Turnaround is a week-in-review column, a place for me to reflect on the week’s most interesting pop culture news items.  If it mattered to me or I think it might matter to you, then it will be here.  If I’ve overlooked an important news item, or if you have a comment or question, please leave a response below.  Thank you for reading.