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Iconic is an overused term, but few things really merit its use like the original Star Wars of 1977. And when you think of those enduring pop culture images they are indelibly wedded to the actors who played the parts: Luke Skywalker looking wistfully at that binary sunset on Tatooine, with John Williams‘ stirring music behind it, is forever linked to Mark Hamill in our collective imagination. For many Harrison Ford Is Han Solo, whilst everybody would be freaked out if Darth Vader spoke with any voice other than that of James Earl Jones.

But what if the film were made today with different actors?

With the Star Wars Blu-ray finally hitting stores next week and another hypothetical exercise in the spirit of Alex Lawson’s interesting take on re-casting Sidney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon, I’m looking at re-casting all the main parts with today’s actors. But whereas...

Ira Stadlen was better known as voice actor Allen Swift. He provided the voice of the villainous Simon Bar-Sinister on the Underdog cartoon series from 1964. He was also many of the voices in the 1967 Rankin Bass feature Mad Monster Party? including Dracula, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, the Invisible Man, Felix Flankin, and Yetch.

Stadlen was born in New York City on January 16, 1924. He began supplying most of the voices for the supporting characters in NBC’s The Howdy Doody Show in 1952, and took over the voice of the lead puppet himself when Buffalo Bob Smith suffered a heart attack in 1954. He hosted cartoons as Captain Allen on The Popeye Show for station Wpix in New York in the late 1950s. He voiced the lead roles in the Gaston and Clint Clobber cartoons, and worked on the Tom and Jerry cartoons in the early 1960s. He was the voice of such cartoon characters as Odie Colognie,...

Arctic Monkeys are up for seven accolades at this year’s Shockwave NME Awards. The ‘Crying Lightning’ hitmakers are in the running for Best British Band, Best Album Artwork, Best Live Band, Best Track, Best Video and Best Album and Worst Album for 'Humbug', while frontman Alex Turner is up for two additional awards – Hottest Man and Hero of the Year. Fellow rockers Kasabian are the Monkeys’ biggest rivals, with six nominations including Best Album for 'West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum'. Alex, 24, said: “It’s a good thing knowing we’re still up for these awards. Kasabian have said that there aren’t any other proper rock bands apart from us and them. “I don’t necessarily agree completely but I know what they’re saying. I think we’re just co-existing very nicely.” Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan said: “It’s been a big year for us and being nominated...

The shortlist of this year's nominations at the Shockwaves NME Awards have been revealed on Monday, January 25 during a launch party at the London Tabernacle with a live performance from The Maccabees. Arctic Monkeys and Kasabian lead the pack with six nods each.

The two bands are up against each other for Best British Band, Best Live Band, Best Track, Best Video, Giving It Back Award and Best Album. While Kasabian receive their sixth nods in Best Album Artwork, Arctic Monkeys get their last gongs in Worst Album for their latest studio album "Humbug".

In the Worst Album, this band face off last year's "champ" Jonas Brothers as well as U2, Lady GaGa and Green Day. Despite having the chance to walk home with the Worst Album, they are still grateful for the nominations.

"It's a good thing knowing we're still up for these awards," member Alex Turner told The Daily Star.

Finally, after years of post-production hell, Spike Jonze's adaptation of Maurice Sendak's Where The Wild Things Are has got some promotion...

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First in production back in Summer 2005, Where The Wild Things Are has spent the last two years being test screened and reshot and now finally has an October/November 2009 release date in the United States and in the UK. The film is about young child Max, who having been sent to bed early, creates a make-believe forest full of monsters who decide to make him their ruler.

The voice talent includes Forest Whitaker, Paul Dano, Catherine Keener and James Gandolfini. The first trailer of Where The Wild Things Are will be attached to Dreamwork's Monsters vs Aliens when it's released on 27th March (3rd April in UK).

Below from PosterGeek you can checkout the new poster for Where The Wild Things are. I loved the book as a kid and the concept of a film warms my cold cold hard. The film will be in theatres Oct 3rd 2008. Maurice Sendak's classic book Where the Wild Things Are comes to the big screen in an adventure tale for every generation.  Directed by innovative filmmaker Spike Jonze, "Where the Wild Things Are" follows the adventure of Max, a mischievous young boy who is sent to his room after rebelling against his mother.  However, Max's imagination is free to roam, and it soon transport...

Directed by Spike Jonze

Starring Newcomer Max Records as Max, Catherine Keener as Max's mom, and the voice talents of folks such as Forest Whitaker and Catherine O'Hara for the big furry whatchamacallits populating Max's imagination

Synopsis If you've never read Maurice Sendak's book, shame on you

Brought to You By A Sendak-chosen Jonze and the fine folks at The Jim Henson Company

Expected Release Date October 16th, 2009

Ja: I was looking forward to this because a new Spike Jonze movie is always something to anticipate and this was one of my favorite books as a kid. But then I found out a bunch of wussy kids bawled at a screening, and suddenly I was Really looking forward to this. Like Coraline there's really nothing that toots my horn like entertainment aimed at children that's filled with nightmare-fodder. Some of my happiest memories are of my earliest encounters with monsters,...