Booze News: Miscellaneous Summer News Items

Greetings, fellow inebriates,

The summer is nigh upon us, and I have a handful of headlines to pass along that may be of interest to soused cinema enthusiasts:

• Miss Trivia App on Sale: Firstly, cocktail goddess and friend of Booze Movies, Cheryl Charming has a iPhone/iTouch/iPad drink trivia app, Miss Trivia, which contains 5000 questions in five fizzy categories. One of the categories, "Celebrity Cocktails," is specifically centered on adult beverages in film. For a limited time, the app can be purchased at a special discount price of just 99 cents. You'd be fool-hearty not to buy Cheryl's app at that price, so let's show her some love. You can find more info and a download link for Miss Trivia at http://www.misscharming.com/app.htm.

• Soused Summer at the Cineplex: We're only a few weeks into the summer movie season (summer apparently starts in late April now), and we've already been treated to some alky-centric gems. We've witnessed the god of thunder drink Stellan Skarsgård under the table in Thor, Will Ferrell has portrayed a down-on-his luck boozer in Everything Must Go, and Kristen Wiig has gotten pickled on a plane in Bridesmaids (all of which have garnered good reviews). This week Johnny Depp returns to the role of rum-sodden Captain Jack Sparrow (although the early word has been decidedly disparaging for Pirates 4). This is quite a promising start for a soused summer at the cineplex. Now, if they'd only start offering cocktails at the concession stand, we'd really have something.
  

• The Thin Man Greenlit: Speaking of Johnny Depp, I posted an item back on October 30th that the actor was interested in rebooting the classic Thin Man series with director Robb Marshall. Apparently, the picture is going forward with Depp portraying the perpetually potted Nick Charles. There's no word yet as to who is being considered to play Nora, Nick's loyal wife and drinking companion. Of course, Depp has remakes of Dark Shadows and The Lone Ranger (as Tonto) scheduled ahead of The Thin Man, so Nora's casting is likely a long way off. While I can't imagine any two actors capturing the same kind of electric chemistry that William Powell and Myrna Loy displayed, the idea of this remake doesn't fill me with disgust in the way Russell Brand's take on Arthur did. I like Depp, and with the right Nora (Winona Ryder, perhaps) the project could be a tipsy treat.
  

That's all for now. I'll be back soon with a review of James Cagney's star-making prohibition classic, The Public Enemy (1931). Until then...

Cheers,
garv