Daily Links: 21 May 2014

• Kung-fu Colin Firth. I am intrigued by Matthew Vaughn's next picture, Kingsman: The Secret Service, which adapts the Mark Millar comic book (much like Vaughn already did with Kick Ass) and re-casts Colin Firth as a martial artist super-spy. Colin Firth is interviewed about the film over at Entertainment Weekly. (link)
• Ninjago movie. Not only is The Lego Movie getting a sequel, it's also sort of getting a spin-off: Warner Bros have announced a movie devoted to the martial arts-themed Lego line Ninjago for September 2016. Charlie Bean makes his directorial debut with the film. (link)
• Pokemon Red figure. I link to cool action figures when I see them, and I really like this upcoming Nenderoid toy based on Pokemon Red. Nintendo fans take note. (link)
• Muscular Matt Smith. Lost River, Ryan Gosling's directorial debut that features Doctor Who's Matt Smith as the villain, gets reviewed over at Twitchfilm. Who fans take note. (link)

Odds'n'Sods: 2 May 2014

Welcome to your Friday night geek/nerd link frenzy.

• Japan's S.H. Figuarts are giving the market very advanced notice of a new Kikaider figure coming out in 2015. I don't actually have a clue who Kikaider is, but the figure looks very funky. On aesthetics alone it might be worth purchasing. (link)
• An interesting piece by Comics Alliance's Rachel Edidin about how Game of Thrones adaptations - both the TV series and the comic book - are using rape as a narrative tool when they very probably shouldn't be. (link)
• Don Hertzfeldt - who's one of my absolute favourite animation directors in the whole world - now has a graphic novel out. It looks odd, and fab. Probably also oddly fab. (link)
• Two new script writers for Doctor Who were announced this week. While I'm happy for them, and it sounds like they're great people for the job, I do wish the BBC would occasionally hire some women to write for the series. (link)
• Ever wonder what the script looks like for an episode of WWE Raw? Now you can find out by following this link. (link)

Random Comic: Sectaurs #4 (1986)

The 1980s were a big time for toy-based entertainment. The standard model of merchandising in the USA was turned on its head: instead of making toys out of TV and comic book characters, they started designing the toy line first and then adapted it to comic books and TV. It was trend kickstarted by Mattel, who figured that rather than spend the money licensing Conan the Barbarian they could make up their own characters and launch Masters of the Universe instead.

Coleco was a rival toy manufacturer who'd scored a massive hit with the Cabbage Patch Kids range of dolls. Looking for their next big success they eyed up the action figure marked that was cornered by the likes of Mattel's Masters of the Universe and Hasbro's G.I. Joe. Their new line? Sectaurs! They're fantasy warriors with a slight science fiction edge, much like MOTU, but they're all bugs. Humanoid bugs riding giant horse-sized bugs fighting evil humanoid bugs on the planet of the bugs.

Odds'n'Sods

Two random links to get you through your afternoon:

• The Hollywood Reporter profiles and interviews director David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club, The Social Network). Check it out here.
• Blake's 7 themed Lego. Check that one out here.