Talking posters? That’s just crazy talk! What’s next? Moving pictures in a flickering box? An interconnected network that instantly shares data around the world at the click of a button? Oh, wait, those things already exist? Fine, then maybe the talking poster for the new comic book turned motion picture The Spirit isn’t that weird after all.

[Click here for the talking poster, but hurry back so we can talk about it!]

Roll your mouse over each character (Eva Mendes as Sand Saref, Scarlett Johansson as Silken Floss, Jaime King as Lorelei and out actress Sarah Paulson as Ellen Dolan) and you will hear her signature line. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been using it like a mix machine and making my own talking poster mash-up. It’s kind of fun. Or perhaps I’m just a geek who is too easily amused.

Also amusing, or should I say arresting, is the film’s teaser trailer:

The film is an adaptation of the 40s noir newspaper comic by the same name from writer/artist Will Eisner. In the comic, a young detective is killed only to return as a crime-fighting, mask-wearing vigilante. Gabriel Macht (Because I Said So) plays The Spirit in the film by Frank Miller (writer/director of Sin City and creator of 300). Miller’s last stint behind the camera was the visually stunning but narrative-leaden Sin City. Miller uses that film’s striking graphic novel style again in The Spirit. … continue reading

I have a disclosure to make: “Ace” is not my full name. It's actually “Ace Randy Gal.” I have, however, been known to answer to “Carnage Lady.” And occasionally to “Calendar Gay.”

These monikers are the result of a boring afternoon at work coupled with the The Internet Anagram Server. Put a bunch of word nerds in the same room as an anagram server, and you've got yourself a party! That was eight years or so ago. “Ace” stuck, and the anagram server (plus the less labor-intensive Anagram Genius Server) get revisited from time to time. Recently, I spent some time procrastinating with the servers and had a blast. Because I'm that big a geek. And because I really didn't want to do my work.

I learned that one of my friends is an “Arch Lesbian.” And that an AfterEllen.com staffer could be an “Old Animal.” And that there are no good anagrams for my girlfriend's name. (However, one version of our dog's name comes out to “Destroyer and Might,” which I think he likes.)

But on the celebrity front, the possibilities abound. (For the record, all of the following anagrams come from the Internet Anagram Server, the Anagram Genius Server or the Anagram Genius Archive.)

I began with The L Word, just because.

Kate Moennig, appropriately, is “Token Enigma.” And Erin Daniels is “Ideal Sinner.” (I'm sure my girlfriend thinks so, anyway.) And Jenny Schecter is “Insufferable, dog-killing wack job.” (But that's just commentary, not an anagram.) Mia Kirshner is “Shinier Mark” (but if you misspell “Kirshner” as “Kirschner,” you get “Manic Shirker”!) Jenny Schecter + Sounder = “Jesus! Northern Decency.” Daniela Sea is “A sane ideal.” And, for the record, Bette Porter + Tina Kennard = “Broke, penitent retardant.” … continue reading

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Don't worry; Cherry Jones hasn't lost her mind and left Sarah Paulson for a man. I'm talking about Jones' character on 24. We learned a few weeks ago that Jones will play President Allison Taylor on the seventh season of the show. Now, meet First Man Henry Taylor:

The last episode of Aaron Sorkin's highly anticipated but ultimately disappointing series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip airs tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC, so set your TiVos if you want to catch out actress Sarah Paulson in her last turn as sketch comedian/devout Christian Harriet Hayes.

Sorkin's series about a Saturday Night Live-like sketch comedy show was one of the most-buzzed-about shows of the 2006 fall season. Though it started off with a respectable 13.1 million viewers for its fall premiere, ratings immediately began to slide and critics quickly began to snark about the show's self-important tone. What worked on The West Wing didn't seem to translate to a Hollywood location. … continue reading