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20th Century Fox has unveiled the first trailer for X-Men: Apocalypse. The video embedded above offers glimpses of Oscar Issac playing the titular character.

Entertainment Weekly reports that Bryan Singer served as the director on this project. James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence came on board to reprise their roles as Professor Xavier, Magneto, and Mystique.

According to Cinema Blend, this film adaptation will “conclude the second trilogy set up for our mighty Marvel mutants.” The theatrical release date has been set for May 27, 2016.

A new trailer has been unveiled for X-Men: Days of Future Past.

The video embedded above offers glimpses of scenes featuring cast members Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, and Jennifer Lawrence. Just Jared has posted photos from the movie set.

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Reviving the lost art of the radio drama, BBC4 has released the first episode of an radio adaptation of Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman‘s 1996 novel.

Follow this link to listen online. James McAvoy, Natalie Dormer, Christopher Lee, Benedict Cumberbatch and many other actors star in the adaptation. Here’s more about the show:

An act of kindness sees Richard Mayhew catapulted from his ordinary life into a subterranean world under the streets of London. Stopping to help an injured girl on a London street, Richard is thrust from his workaday existence into the strange world of London Below. So begins a curious and mysterious adventure deep beneath the streets of London, a London of shadows where the tube cry of ‘Mind the Gap’ takes on new meaning; for the inhabitants of this murky domain are those who have fallen through the gaps in society, the dispossessed, the homeless.

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Well, this is certainly one of the most British things I’ve ever heard. Please whistle the theme tune to The Archers while you read this article.

Yesterday Neil Gaiman announced on his blog that BBC Radio 4 have gathered a stunning collection of actors to record a radio adaptation of his story Neverwhere, which was first seen on television in the 1990s. Co-written by Lenny Henry, the story was sort-of simultaneously adapted into a novel by Gaiman, which was subsequently rewritten and adapted into radio plays and, well, all sorts of stuff happened with it, really.

This adaptation for radio, however, has managed to gather an incredible line-up of actors – several of whom sent this message across to Gaiman, which he shared earlier:

Which sight excites you most? Manly David Harewood? Game of Throne’s Natalie Dormer? James McAvoy? Giles from Buffy? Benedict Crumpetpatch? Hold on tight, because this photo only skims the surface of an utterly incredible cast.

Also appearing will be Andrew Sachs, Sophie Okonedo, Christopher Lee, Don Gilet, Johnny Vegas, Bernard Cribbins, Lucy Cohu and Romola Garai. And that’s still not all! Gaiman also teases that there will be a few other secret cameos and appearances tucked in amongst everything else. Zoinks.

Scheduled for release as a 6-episode series in 2013, Neverwhere will be produced by Dirk Maggs. Okay, you can stop whistling now.

Read two excellent books recently:

Joyce Maynard's The Usual Rules , a tremendously affecting, beautifully written book that had so many parts where I thought "Damn, I wish I'd written that!". It was recommended to me by one of the moms in a mother/daughter book group I met with, after she heard that my new WIP deals with some 9/11 issues. Maynard handles her protagonists loss of her mother in the World Trade Center with such sensitivity and skill - there's a part of me that wishes I hadn't read the book till after I wrote mine, because now I feel really intimidated, like "uh, oh, maybe I won't be able to do such a good job." But enough about me and my relentless insecurity. That's what the bar of Lindt Excellence 85% in my top left drawer is for!

The other book I just finished which blew me away is The Adoration of Jenna Fox by none other than our very own marypearson. Although completely unlike her first book in terms of setting and tone, it was like it in that in drew me in from the very first page and was tremendously thought provoking. Well done Mary! *stands for ovation* Brava! Brava!

On the Netflix front, Daughter and I watched, on Cheryl Klein's recommendation, Starter for Ten, starring up-and-coming Thinking Woman's Crumpet, James McAvoy. Although James might not yet be in the Colin Firth in the wet britches in Pride and Prejudice range, he is nipping at Colin's cummerbund in Thinking Woman's Crumpetness. For anyone who has seen "Starter for Ten", (and I recommend it, it's quite charming) I actually remember watching University Challenge when I lived in the UK in the 70's. Those were the days when there were only 3, maybe four television stations and so we watched what was on - and if it was a glorified pub quiz with a bunch of university students, well, so be it.

I'm now reading The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E.Lockhart, and am loving it thus far. So many great books. So little time! And now...back to writing... Read the rest of this post

his name was ted. he was a bartender. and a nude model for extra cash. (funny...i always thought bartenders made a TON of cash!) He posed for my anat/figure drawing classes, in college. he was a legend.

he had one of those amazing 6 pack abs bellies. like, you could throw pennies at it and they'd shoot right back at you like little rockets. take your eye out if you weren't careful.

and he loved showing that belly off. it was his best feature. above the waist, he had one of those "always angry" looking faces. but, not like a "sexy-mad bruce willis" kind of thing...more like,"everybody pisses me off, get the f away from me" kind of look. a crazed look. and he had a funny kind of beard that didn't quite meet around his mouth...it just kind of stopped. and it had bald patches here and there...like a moth eaten blanket. (ok, who is now SERIOUSLY GROSSED OUT? i TOTALLY am just thinking about him again!)

and then there was his tattoo. right there. on his belly button. the innie was right thru the cow's skull. like a bullet hole. all his idea he told a roomful of us, on those rare occasions when he would speak. and i swear to the stairs up to heaven...it said "mommy."

YYYYYYIIIKKKEEESSS!!!!

i did the charcoal back then and then added the uh tattoo tonight and you know, i was gonna add "mikey stars" to his um, chest but then i thought....nahhh....this is creepy enough! enjoy ted the cowboy...LAYYYYYDEEESSS.