Tag Archives: Alex Kurtzman

Sleepy Hollow S01E13 – “Bad Blood”

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Bad Blood Sleepy Hollow

You’re a shotgun bang! What’s up with that thang? I wanna know how does it hang?


Sleepy Hollow “Bad Blood”
Written by Alex Kurtzman and Mark Goffman
Directed by Ken Olin
Bad Blood Sleepy Hollow

We’ve been kicked out of better planes of the afterlife than this!


Hey, ho! This is IT! The epic last part of the Season 1 Finale of Sleepy Hollow, the show that became one of the best shows on television despite (or because!) of how ridiculous it is! It’s sharply written, with a fantastic cast that constantly brings their A game. It’s got a rich mythology while still has the freedom to disregard or retcon things that don’t quite work. It expands from it’s Biblical influences to become a broader narrative. It is incredibly diverse, with many well written black characters who aren’t just thrown in to add a bit of color to the cast. Sleepy Hollow brings together many great ingredients into an incredible stew of deliciousness. So make sure you grab yourself a bowl, because it’s going to be a long long wait until fall!

When last we left Sleepy Hollow (in what was the first part of a two-part episode combined together despite not originally being written that way), Ichabod and Abbie had just retrieved a map to Purgatory from the secret crypt of Zombie George Washington, and then burned the map to keep Moloch from getting it. Ichabod then drew the map again from memory, because he can do that. Captain Irving was arrested while protecting his daughter from crimes she committed while being demon-possessed, and Katrina didn’t appear except via flashbacks (as usual!)

I’m going to cut things off here, and there will be SPOILERS below the fold, because there always is anyway, but these are season ending spoilers of all the cool things that happen, so be warned if you haven’t bingewatched these episodes from your DVR!

Bad Blood Sleepy Hollow

Yep, we’re going to use another “I lost my head over Sleepy Hollow” joke!


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Sleepy Hollow S01E10 – “The Golem”

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golem Sleepy Hollow

This meeting of the Lydia From Beetlejuice Fan Club will come to order!


Sleepy Hollow “The Golem”
Story by Alex Kurtzman
Teleplay by Mark Goffman & Jose Molina
Directed by J. Miller Tobin
golem Sleepy Hollow

Golem smash irony!


Last time on Sleepy Hollow, we found out that Ichabod had a son he never knew about, the name and even the name of the child is a mystery. So now it’s time to go mystery hunting, as our heroes find out whatever happened to Baby Crane. Also there is a monster and some great character scenes. There is a special focus on parentage of many of the characters, particularly the male ones. This makes sense, as many are from fractured families, and they are on the way to forming their own little family that fights the forces of darkness. Beyond that, there is hints of grave danger, which is to be expected, with a two-hour season finale coming up shortly (only one regular episode left!)

We find out more about Ichabod’s unknown child, Jeremy Crane. But just so you know, the answers were be slowly sprinkled throughout the episode, both in order to help build on suspense, but also because there is a secret sort of twist. And possibly more going on that the characters conclude at the finale of the episode, but I’ll cross that bridge when we reach it.

Sin Eater Henry Parrish (John Noble) returns, and he loves puzzles. He does crosswords all the time, because they help center him. Because of his powers, he lives an isolated life, so spending his time doing hobbies like that aren’t surprising. The puzzlework will come in handy, because the entire show is one huge puzzle of crazy awesome. It’s like those huge jumbo puzzle magazines I would get from PennyPress when I was younger and needed stuff to do on plane rides and bus rides.

golem Sleepy Hollow

Crossword puzzles got so much easier when I just used nonsense Lord of the Rings words!


Parrish and Crane share some moments of their fathers, Parrish mentioning that he never got to thank his father for what he gave him (his father now resides in a home, suffering from Alzheimer’s), while Crane laments never getting to be a father to his boy like his dad was to him. If there is one thing Sleepy Hollow does exceptionally well, it is to have well crafted moments between its characters while they’re discussion family relations.

Fear not, there is more Ichabod vs. The Modern World shenanigans going on! Especially amazing is the wordplay of the “awful intercourse” conversation. Which makes since and is very dirty. This episode is more scattered, so some of the analysis will be cut and run with the recap section. Don’t be a gongoozler, it’s time to dive in with “The Golem”

golem Sleepy Hollow

The return of Evil Mongo!


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Sleepy Hollow S01E02 – “Blood Moon”

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Sleepy Hollow Blood Moon
Sleepy Hollow “Blood Moon”
Written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Mark Goffman
Directed by Ken Olin

Sleepy Hollow Blood Moon

The worst charity car wash.


Sleepy Hollow returns with another episode that brings the WTF, while still having a few hokey and cheesy parts. The important thing is the level of good to bad is at least equal to the pilot, and arguably better.

We see Sheriff Corbin’s funeral, and find out that Sleepy Hollow has a radio station that plays Sinatra’s Witchcraft at opportune times. But beyond all that, this is the first time we see the snazzy opening credits, which is largely people standing in the dark woods while spooky things happen.

Sleepy Hollow Blood Moon

I don’t like this new gritty Pez reboot


The Headless Horseman barely appears, outside of a dream sequence in the beginning. He rides with the other three Horsemen of the Apocalypse, including a guy with a demonic helmet who is instantly the one rider I care about. Ichabod is dreaming they are after him, then is saved by his wife who gives him a warning about the army of evil people who will do evil stuff to pave the way for the really evil people.
Sleepy Hollow Blood Moon

Forget the Headless Horseman, I want to know about the Gremlin Darth Vader Horseman!


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Time to major in Dragonology!

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[adrotate banner=”1″]Who doesn’t like the Dragonology books? Fools, mostly, but also some idiots. The Dragonology books and similar styled sequels are visual treats, books styled like a journal of old with drawings and charts, set in a world where dragons are real and have their own ecologies. Though the books only had a loose narrative, it is enough that something cool could be done, and the universe has only grown in scope. The choice of Dragonology as a film sounds rad, even with the unfortunate fact it’s going through Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci’s production house via Universal. Hopefully they won’t do anything except put their name on it, because they’re going to be busy writing The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Web Harder. Dragonology has a lot of potential, but it is also loose enough that it could go in any direction. It will be easy to make a good film, a little work to make a great film, but it’s also easy to make an awful awful film. Will Dr. Ernest Drake kick some butt? Or be a rapping granny?

via THR

Dragonology

No one calls us "Puff"!

Kurtzman And Orci to ruin Mummy and Van Helsing reboots

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[adrotate banner=”1″]We knew The Mummy was getting rebooted, but we didn’t know until now that Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci were going to be in charge of remaking it as well as the Van Helsing reboot that everyone has been screaming for. Everyone in the INSANE ASYLUM, that is! For further proof of that, Tom Cruise is currently attached to be Van Helsing. This seems like some sort of desperate plan to make the Hugh Jackman original look like a good movie. Well, Good Game! As for The Mummy reboots, the original two were sort of cool in an Indiana Jones type way, though the third one was less fun and more bore. However, Brendan Fraser was awesome in them, and it may be hard to capture that kind of magic when the Mummy is peeing dust on someone. You might think I don’t like Kurtzman and Orci because all their movies have been varying shades of awful, and you are right.

Sad Van Helsing

Actual picture of Van Helsing audience reactions...


Enjoy the Press Release!

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA, May 1, 2011—Universal Pictures today announced the studio has signed a two-year first-look production deal with one of the leading writing/producing teams in the entertainment industry, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and their K/O Paper Products banner. The duo will kick off their new relationship with Universal by reimagining titles from the studio’s library including Van Helsing and The Mummy. The announcement was made by Universal Pictures Chairman, Adam Fogelson and Co-Chairman, Donna Langley.

Kurtzman and Orci have collaborated with some of the industry’s top creative minds including J.J. Abrams, with whom they wrote the third installment of Mission: Impossible, which grossed nearly $400 million at the worldwide box office. In 2007, they wrote Transformers and went on to write Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in 2009. Together, those films grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide. More recently, the pair wrote and executive produced 2009’s Star Trek, which grossed more than $385 million worldwide. Accompanying their impressive film resume, Kurtzman and Orci have found tremendous success in television, having created the series Fringe, writing/producing Alias and in 2010, producing the reboot of Hawaii Five-O. They also currently executive produce the highest rated show on Hasbro’s The Hub, Transformers Prime.

“Alex and Roberto are extraordinarily talented writers and producers who know the value of a great story in building successful tentpole films,” Fogelson and Langley said in a joint statement. “They have been a major part of some of Hollywood’s biggest movies and television shows in recent history, and we’re eager to have them build on that success at Universal.”

“We’re thrilled to call Universal Pictures our home,” said Kurtzman and Orci. “From the moment we sat down with Adam, Donna, Peter, Jeff and the entire Uni team, there was an instant flow of inspired ideas. They really understand the importance of building a strong creative team and giving our shared projects their full support. We’re proud to start making movies that will live as part of Universal’s enduring legacy.”

Kurtzman and Orci’s K/O Paper Products will develop and produce a modern reimagining of Universal library titles including The Mummy, alongside producer Sean Daniel and writer Jon Spaihts. The pair will also develop and produce Universal’s reimagined Van Helsing, with Tom Cruise attached to star in and produce the film.

Kurtzman and Orci’s upcoming projects include writing Sony’s next installment of The Amazing Spider-Man; producing Now You See Me, for Lionsgate Summit, set for release in March 2013; and producing Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, also for Lionsgate Summit. Kurtzman and Orci wrote and produced People Like Us, which marks Kurtzman’s directorial debut and is scheduled to be released in June 2012, and wrote and produced the second installment of Star Trek, set for release in 2013. The pair most recently rewrote All You Need Is Kill for Warner Bros., with Tom Cruise attached to star, Doug Liman to direct and Erwin Stoff to produce.

Kurtzman, Orci and the rest of their K/O Paper Products team, including President Bobby Cohen, will be housed on the Universal lot. Former assistants Ben Kim and Kim Cavyan will come aboard as creative executives. Kurtzman and Orci are represented by CAA and attorneys Michael Gendler and Kevin Kelly of Gendler & Kelly, APC.

Van Helsing pic from here