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	For U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko, things are about to get even more dangerous. The only law enforcement in this unforgiving territory, she has just been sent to investigate a body on the ice. Antarctica's first homicide. A shocking discovery in itself, it will plunge her into an even more bizarre mystery and the revelation of secrets long-buried under the endless ice--secrets that someone believes are still worth killing for. As Stetko races to find the killer before he finds her, winter is already closing in. In the deadly Antarctic whiteout, she won't see him till he's a breath away.... (more)
Production Status :	Released
Genres :	Action/Adventure, Thriller, Crime/Gangster and Adaptation
Running Time :	1 hr. 41 min.... (more)

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Sans Superheroes, Comic Books Surge to the Big Screen
Hollywood's recent love affair with comic books doesn't stop with superheroes, as this month's box office proves.

In the next two weeks, two movies based on comic books - this weekend's "Whiteout
" with Kate Beckinsale and the Sept. 25th release "Surrogates" with Bruce Willis - won't have an ounce of spandex involved, reflecting a trend toward more and more non-superhero comic books getting scooped up by Hollywood for adaptation into film.

"Hollywood has been turned onto comics in a way that they actually haven't been before," said Greg Rucka, who wrote "Whiteout" in 1998 for publisher Oni Press and its sequel, "Whiteout: Melt."

"Hollywood people tend to be people who are, in my experience, very visually oriented people," Rucka said. "And if you put a novel in front of them, they are less inclined to really dive into that novel. But if you can put in front of them a story that combines prose with images, they get that. And they get that much more quickly, and can see a translation to film much more effortlessly. So it's not just about superheroes - I think now, it's about comics."

With the recent success of cape-free comic book movies like "300" and "Wanted" - along with the upcoming films based on comics like "Kick-Ass" and "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" - Hollywood has quietly been sneaking a surge of comic book movies into theaters without most movie-goers even realizing it.

"There's a little line on the corner of the poster that says it's based on a graphic novel," Rucka said with a laugh. "And I think it says something in the credits. So I'm not sure anyone will know it was a comic."

[Here's a look at 8 films some people may not have known are based on comic books]

But the trend also presents a bit of a challenge because the creator's visual story is often drastically changed, something that many comic book fans don't like and even some creators have publicly decried - such as "V for Vendetta" and "Watchmen" comics author Alan Moore. While popular superheroes have been touched by various writers and artists over the decades since they were created, the non-superhero properties being optioned by Hollywood are owned by one or two people, and both they and their fans tend to be a little more possessive of the story.

"It's very strange because, in all honesty, what [artist] Steve [Lieber] and I created and what ultimately made it to the screen - you can see the roots of it, but it's a very different animal," Rucka said of "Whiteout." "But I went into the process eyes wide open. That's one of the things they paid us for the opportunity to do. I don't have a problem with that."

"I know among comic book fans, there's a lot of that concern," said Robert Venditti, who wrote the "The Surrogates" comic book for publisher Top Shelf, with art by Brett Weldele. "But the way I looked at it from the very beginning, and the way I still look at it, is as a big compliment that people would want to spend their time and energy on something that I'd written. When you go to the set and there are 250 people working in Boston on this film - from the directors to the set builders and prop guys - they're working on this project for four months of their lives.

"I've already told the story the way I wanted to tell it in the book, so I let them bring their creativity to it the way they wanted to," he said. "And I just tried not to get caught up so much in the exact translation of it to the screen."

While some comic book movies - in particular, "300," "Sin City" and this year's "Watchmen" - have been much closer to taking a literal translation from the comic book to the movie, Rucka said he doesn't think all comics are able to be translated that way.

"You could never have taken 'Whiteout,' as [artist] Steve [Lieber] and I created it, and make a movie out of it just out of the graphic novel," Rucka said. "You couldn't do what they did with, for instance, '300.' It's not going to survive a shot-for-shot translation. I mean, if for no other reason, we tell you who did it in the first issue of the graphic novel. There would be no mystery if you filmed that. That doesn't make for a good movie.

"I think in some cases Hollywood has been slavishly literal, to their detriment, of both novels and comics," he said. "And in other cases, they've taken liberties that have made for very good movies. And I think we have to be mindful of that."

[Want to judge for yourself, click here to read the first 33 pages of the original "Whiteout" graphic novel.]

Although there are several changes from "The Surrogates" comic book to the "Surrogates" movie, Venditti pointed out that the key elements of his comic are there, which are the parts he cared most about.

"There are a few things I definitely wanted to see in the film. I wanted my characters to be there. And I wanted the subtext and commentary that I was driving for in the comics to be there. And the relationship between the main character and his wife was very central to the story, and the effect that the surrogates had on their marriage, I wanted that to be in the film," Venditti said. "All those things have been retained in the film. So obviously the changed some things, added characters and subplots, but basically, the core story is the same. And that's what's important to me.

"If my sci-fi thriller had gone into the Hollywood sausage machine and come out the other end a romantic comedy, I'd be pretty bummed. But that's not the case here. I'm actually thrilled with what I've seen," he said.

Rucka said "Whiteout" also kept the uniquely harsh and stark artistic tone of the "Whiteout" comic when translating the story, which was set in Antarctica, into a movie.

"The film has a great sense of the environment and never really loses it," Rucka said. "They did a beautiful job of not only capturing Steve's visuals literally, but even the feel of his visuals."

Both Rucka and Venditti said they were consulted on this movies, but neither felt like they had a significant impact.

"My involvement was terribly limited, and frankly, to be perfectly honest, far more than I would have imagined they'd even extend to me. You know? Because I was the writer of the comic. I wasn't the screenwriter. I wasn't involved in the film," Rucka said. "That they even invited me in and wanted my opinion was flattering."

As more than 40 comic book properties are in some stage of production and dozens others are optioned for film, there seems to be a slew of comic book properties being eyed by Hollywood - but many never make it to the screen. While "Surrogates" was turned into a movie only three years after its original publication in 2006, "Whiteout" was stuck in film-option limbo for almost a decade.

"Steve and I had reached a point where we just thought we'd start living off the options. We'd be 80 and this thing would be optioned again," Rucka said. "I actually never thought they'd do it."

"A lot of it is out of your control once it's optioned, and you just don't know if it's going to make it to the film stage," Venditti said. "But 'Surrogates' was unique in that it was made so quickly. You talk to a lot of people - producers and things like that - and they'll say, 'What are you working on now?' And you'll tell them. And they'll say, well, I'll tell you right now that it's not going to go into production as quickly as Surrogates did.

Although Rucka is currently writing comics for DC involving both Superman and Batman characters, he's got another non-superhero comic book property for Oni Press that is moving toward a possible movie - the spy thriller "Queen and Country".

"For reasons that have never become clear to me, the first draft of the screenplay for 'Queen and Country' was set aside," Rucka said. "But just recently, a young man named Ryan Condal was given the assignment to write the screenplay. And I've actually spoken to him a couple of times, and I read one of his screenplays already. And I think the comic is in very good hands. He's very talented."

And although Rucka admitted he never thought "Whiteout" would make it to the theaters, he believes "Queen and Country" might be among the next phase of non-superhero comic book movies that Hollywood brings to the big screen.

"I think it may happen!" he said. "I think we may be getting close."

More on Newsarama:
Movie 'Whiteout' Gets Antarctic Science Right
Whiteout Graphic Novel 33-page Preview Movie Review: 'Whiteout'
- Original Story: Sans Superheroes, Comic Books Surge to the Big Screen
Newsarama.com is the go-to source for the latest comic book and genre entertainment news, reviews and commentary. Newsarama's passionate audience contributes to lively discussions ranging from classic and new comics to movies, TV, manga, anime and more. Watch previews, interviews and more on our video player, sneak peeks of new comics on our Comic Book Viewer and sign up for our RSS feeds. And be sure to join our community so you can voice your opinion on our articles and in our lively forums.
...(more) - 09 12 2009 9:05PM
Review: 'Whiteout' Buried Under Avalanche of Bad Decisions
A "Whiteout," we are told early on in the new film of the same name, is what happens when "an unholy set of weather patterns converge, and the world falls away."

"Whiteout" the movie is
what happens when an unholy set of poorly executed action scenes, awful acting and cinematic cliches converge. It's a thriller that doesn't thrill, which is as damning a statement as you can say about this type of movie. Based on the Greg Rucka/Steve Lieber graphic novel of the same name, it has reportedly been on the shelf for over a year. Any doubt as to why the movie collected dust rather than ticket sales becomes clear very quickly.

The film begins in 1957, with a Russian cargo plane flying over Antarctica. The subsequent plane crash sets the table for the movie and is the most exciting sequence in the entire film. Jump ahead five decades, and we find U.S. Marshall Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale), who has been stationed at a U.S. research station for 2 years. Still haunted by personal demons, Stetko is ready to return to civilization and turn in her badge. She's due to board the last flight out in two days, before the Antarctic winter sets in and plunges the area into darkness for six months.

Her travel plans are put on hold when a popsicle (that's the term used to describe a dead body out there) is found nearby. He's been murdered by a pick ax to the chest, making this the first official homicide to take place in Antarctica.

The brutal conditions of the South Pole are a key supporting character here. Filmed in Manitoba, Canada, the movie constantly warns that being outside for more than a few minutes could kill you. Loss of motor functions and mobility happen rapidly. And in case it still doesn't sink in, the approaching storm is used as a bridge between scenes to remind us that, "Hey, it's REALLY cold out there!" [At least the science in the film is largely sound, LiveScience reports.]

As Marshall Stetko tries to piece together what happened, her investigation takes her to a Russian research station in Vostock. Accompanied by a young pilot named Delfry (Columbus Short) she runs into and narrowly escapes the ax-wielding killer. Aside from having really bad aim with his ax, the killer apparently knows the backstreets of Antarctica, because he is able to navigate around the continent without anyone seeing or noticing him coming or going.

Gabriel Macht follows up the disastrous "The Spirit" with a supporting turn here as a special investigator for the United Nations. The UN sent him to the Tundra to control the flow of information, to prevent an international incident.

Beckinsale is badly miscast here. You never really buy her in the role, even during one particularly squeamish scene where she pays the price for being exposed to the elements. Director Dominic Sena ("Gone in 60 Seconds," "Swordfish") interrupts the present-day with abrupt flashbacks to the incident that landed her in Antarctica, but these only serve to take the audience completely out of the story.

The script does Beckinsale no favors, either. She had to mutter several lines that had the audience at the screening I attended laughing out loud.

Short is basically along for comic relief, while Alex O'Loughlin also stars as a cocky pilot. Tom Skerritt, who looks more and more like Kris Kristofferson every day, co-stars as the base doctor and Beckinsale's character's closest friend.

Bad dialogue aside, the film undercuts itself with so much exposition, it flirts with self-parody. Everything is explained ad nauseum. Unusual stitching on a field wound? Let's not just show it, let's have a character SAY IT OUT LOUD.

When Beckinsale, Macht and Short find the Russian plane that crashed 50 years earlier, they re-enact the crime scene, talking out loud to each other, exactly as it happened (we know this because we saw it happen in the opening sequence, remember), in less than a minute. It was like watching a scene from a mutant super-powered "C.S.I."

Then there's the climax of the film. Taking place outdoors in 65-below zero temperatures, with hurricane-class winds and snow swirling, it's a 3-way chase scene between our two heroes and the killer. You would think if there was any area of this film the director of "Gone in 60 Seconds" and "Swordfish" would excel at, is in the staging of the action scenes.

You would be fair to think that. And you would be wrong.

The big chase winds up being a plodding bore. Remember the old Batman TV show, when Batman & Robin would climb up the side of a building, one painfully slow step at a time? Picture that, only horizontally and in the snow, and you have an idea of what happens in "Whiteout."

When the big twist at the end finally arrives, it's so poorly delivered that any potential impact is missed. As you walk out of the theater, you find yourself wondering why some of these characters made the decisions they made. You also ask yourself the same thing about the filmmakers responsible for this mess.

More on Newsarama & Livescience:

Movie 'Whiteout' Gets Antarctic Science Right
Whiteout Trailer
Warner Bros. Creates DC ENTERTAINMENT To Maximize DC Brands
- Original Story: Review: 'Whiteout' Buried Under Avalanche of Bad Decisions
Newsarama.com is the go-to source for the latest comic book and genre entertainment news, reviews and commentary. Newsarama's passionate audience contributes to lively discussions ranging from classic and new comics to movies, TV, manga, anime and more. Watch previews, interviews and more on our video player, sneak peeks of new comics on our Comic Book Viewer and sign up for our RSS feeds. And be sure to join our community so you can voice your opinion on our articles and in our lively forums.
...(more) - 09 11 2009 9:00PM
Beckinsale wipes out with "Whiteout"
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Kate Beckinsale has to be one of the most schizoid actors working. She careens from arty dramas like "Snow Angels" to schlock like the "Underworld" vampire series.
>
Her latest, "Whiteout," opening Friday via Warner Bros., finds her on another slumming expedition. Even a bad thriller can be entertaining, and this gory murder mystery set in Antarctica has a certain dumb fascination -- up to a point. Then it is defeated by its sheer idiocy. The advertising will draw the core audience to the opening weekend. A huge drop-off awaits.

A prologue shows a Russian plane crashing at the South Pole in 1957. Fifty years later, Beckinsale's Carrie Stetko is a U.S. marshal stationed there at a scientific research base. When a body is discovered out in the snow, she has to solve the case -- before the entire base is evacuated because of a severe winter storm. Of course, that buried Russian aircraft has something to do with the increasingly grisly series of murders. To add to the backstory, Carrie is still recovering from the psychic scars of a botched mission she survived years earlier in Miami.

The picture is based on a graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber, and the script was written by two sets of brothers: Jon and Erich Hoeber and Chad and Carey W. Hayes. All these scribes have disgorged a heap of nonsense with laughable dialogue ("Doc, this wasn't an accident!"). Director Dominic Sena ("Swordfish") favors the flashy style of music videos -- lots of handheld shots and rapid-fire editing of images that never quite come into focus. A headache is guaranteed. The cinematography by Chris Soos takes advantage of the white-on-white locales (filmed in Manitoba and Quebec), and the eerie music by John Frizzell provides the frissons of suspense missing from the writing and direction.

Beckinsale can be a fine actress in some films, but her earnestness is ludicrous in a potboiler like this one. The handsome Gabriel Macht is the U.N. observer (don't ask) who might be a romantic interest for Carrie or a villain. Tom Skerritt lends his grandfatherly presence to the poorly conceived role of Doc. Most of the other actors have little to do except to fight off a knife-wielding maniac. The predictable denouement will leave viewers in a sour mood.

(Editing by DGoodman at Reuters)

(please visit our entertainment blog via www.reuters.com or on http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)

...(more) - 09 12 2009 3:44AM
2009: The Year of the Comic Book Movie (Again)?
With last year's box office success of The Dark Knight and Iron Man,2008 was labeled by many as the year of the comic book movie. But 2009may turn out to be just as influenced by the world of comics, only thistime, it won&#
39;t be dominated by well-known superheroes.

"I would argue that 'comic book movies' is its own genre now. And I'mnot just talking about superheroes," said Jeff Katz, the former 20thCentury Fox executive and comics writer who was a producer on thisyear's X-Men Origins: Wolverine . "For a decade, we had to educate the audience and Hollywood about the difference. They get the difference now. 300 was a comic book movie, but it wasn't a superhero movie. Men in Black, Ghost World, Sin City-- comic book movies, but not superhero movies. Look where we areversus where we were 15 years ago in terms of respect and even lipservice. There's an applied respect for this medium and this form now.People get it."

Although in the past, many film-goers didn't realize non-superhero movies like Road to Perdition and A History of Violence(famously, on the latter, director David Cronenberg didn't even know itwas a graphic novel first) were based on comic books, that's startingto change as studios are more willing to use the comic connection intheir marketing, as Universal did with Wanted last year.

"I think that used to be the case, but 300 seemed to be awatershed moment where studios realized that tying a film in with itssource material is a good marketing idea, even if the source materialisn't one of the more recognizable Marvel or DC properties," saidRobert Venditti, the author of Surrogates, the graphic novel on which this year's Surrogatesmovie starring Bruce Willis is based. "So I think, generally speaking,moviegoers are now much more aware of the alternative comics andgraphic novels that find their way to the screen."

As audiences are educated on the comic book origin behind theirfavorite films, the hope of publishers is that they'll seek out thesource material.

"Hopefully once there are enough non-superhero movies out there, andthey've been promoted as being based on comics/graphic novels, it willhelp educate the public at large that there is a wider variety ofstories and characters available in our medium," said Oni PressPublisher Joe Nozemack, whose Greg Rucka-penned graphic novel Whiteoutis being released as a crime thriller film later this year. "Thechallenge then becomes to be sure they're introduced to books that meettheir interests and tastes, instead of forcing superheroes orsci-fi/fantasy books on them."

In 2009, the variety of stories and genres in film that originated incomic book form are many, including the following comic-related moviesset to hit theaters this year:

Astro Boy: With a voice cast that includes superhero fan favorites like Ghost Riderstar Nicolas Cage and Heroes villain Kristen Bell, Astro Boy will bringthe star of manga and anime television to modern audiences through CGIanimation. Originating as a manga comic book in 1952 by Osamu Tezuka,Astro Boy became a popular television show that first found success inJapan and later other countries. The film version, set to be releasedin October, stars Spiderwick Chronicles actor Freddie Highmore as thevoice of Astro Boy, the young robot with amazing powers whoseadventures require him to save his futuristic hometown of Metro City.

Coraline: While the story was first a novella, Coraline makes our listbecause it's written by comics scribe Neil Gaiman and was just adaptedby artist P. Craig Russell as a graphic novel last year. With a February 6threlease, Coraline tells the story of a young girl who moves to a newhome and unlocks a mysterious door that leads to a parallel reality.Shot as stop-motion animation, the movie will have Dakota Fanningvoicing the lead role and Lois and Clark/Desperate Housewives star TeriHatcher as her mother.

Kick-Ass: Tentatively slated for late 2009, Kick-Ass is the comic bookmovie that was being filmed before the comic series was even finishedby writer Mark Millar (Wanted) and artist John Romita Jr. With on-set photoshitting Newsarama in November, the movie looks to be sticking close tothe comic book, which tells a modern and brutally realistic story ofwhat would really happen to a teen who wants to fight crime like thesuperheroes in his beloved comic books. With young actor Aaron Johnsonin the lead role and the aforementioned Nick Cage as an ex-cop, thestory centers on a high school nerd who decides to try his hand atfighting crime in spandex, despite the fact he has no powers nor any ofthe basic physical attributes necessary to live up to the label crowdsgive him, "Kick-Ass."

Sherlock Holmes: This one shows up on our list of comic book films onlybecause of how the film was developed in the first place. Yes, thebooks and the character are legendary without the help of comic books.But Lionel Wigram's still-unpublished comic book was the spec scriptfor the film, meaning that graphic novels are not only rumored to beeffective in lieu of a speculative script, but are now proven as havingworked.

"I think when you put illustrations on paper -- essentiallystoryboards, for people who think in movie terms -- and they canenvision how this will look on the screen, it does help sell theproduct," writer B. Clay Moore told Newsarama last year."In fact, I know there are more and more people in Hollywood that areputting together sort of graphic novels in an attempt to elevate thepitch so the people can see it visually, which I don't think is a badidea at all."

With movies based on comics producing more than $1 billion last year,it's not surprising that studios are wooed by the medium even when thesource was never published. Besides, Sherlock Holmes has Iron Man starRobert Downey Jr. taking on the lead role in the film, further linkingit to the comic book movie genre when it comes out in November.

The Surrogates: Starring Bruce Willis, the September 25 film The Surrogatesis based on the comic series by writer Robert Venditti and artist BrettWeldele and published by Top Shelf. The sci-fi story takes place in 2054, when advancements invirtual reality and cybernetics have led to an era where "surrogates"let people interact with the real world without leaving their ownhomes. When someone starts to "kill" surrogates, a copy played byWillis is forced to leave his home to investigate.

The Surrogates, which is being brought to theaters by the filmmaking triobehind Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, is one of thosenon-superhero movies that has the potential to further educate amainstream audience on the wide variety of fiction genres available incomics. And publisher Top Shelf Productions is preparing for the kindof interest in the source material that publishers saw after therelease of other comic book movies like Sin City and Wanted.

"Top Shelf will be ready by summer to support the frenzy of interestwith not only a large run of the new edition of The Surrogates graphicnovel, but also the brand new prequel, The Surrogates: Flesh and Bone-- another amazing graphic novel by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele,"said Chris Staros, Top Shelf publisher.

Watchmen: Probably the most anticipated by comics fans, the Marchrelease of Watchmen will bring the acclaimed graphic novel to thescreen now that its legal problems have been settled by Warner Bros. and Fox. Originallypublished as a 12-issue comic series by writer Alan Moore and artistDave Gibbons in 1986/87, Watchmen is still among the best-sellinggraphic novels for DC Comics even 20 years later.

The story's premise -- the deconstruction of the superhero -- is whatmade it such a pivotal work for the comic book industry, but it's alsobehind the film taking two decades to hit the screen. "I'm not surethat a deconstruction of the genre like the Watchmen would have beenpossible without all these other archetypical superhero origin moviesout in the marketplace providing the right language first, so theaudience could get the shorthand down," Katz said.
Although Watchmen may not generate the box office numbers of The DarkKnight, the benefit for the publishing industry is potentially moresignificant because this film leads movie fans back to the sourcematerial more readily than a movie about iconic characters like Batmanor Superman. Because Watchmen is about characters unfamiliar tomainstream audiences, and because the film is based on a self-containedstory that can be purchased in one volume, interest in the Watchmenbook is already skyrocketing, just from the word-of-mouth caused by thetrailer.
"Clearly, it's worked beyond any recognition in history," DC Publisher and Presidnet Paul Levitz told Newsarama last year just before it was announced that 1 million copies of Watchmenhad been sold in 2008. "We had a dinner of the buying teams from allthe major bookstore franchises, and no one there or on our Random Housesales side could remember a trailer from any film having the kind ofmathematical effect on book sales that we're experiencing withWatchmen."
Whiteout: Starring genre movie favorite Kate Beckinsale (Underworld/VanHelsing), Whiteout is based on the graphic novel by writer Greg Ruckaand artist Steve Lieber. A crime thriller with Beckinsale playing aU.S. Marshal, Whiteout is about murder and intrigue in Antarctica,where the brutal white landscape plays as much of a role in the storyas the characters.

Nozemack said the film, which is set to come out on September 11, hasalready generated an interest in the Whiteout book and its sequel,Whiteout: Melt.
"We've already seen an increase in sales and interest in the books justfrom the publicity that's been done up to this point," the publishersaid. "We expect to see two more surges, one when the trailer isofficially released and then when the full marketing campaign is ineffect just before the film's release."
Whiteout is another film that promises to further break the stereotypeof comics being all about superheroes, as the parkas and real-worldinvestigating tools used by the characters in this movie are about asfar removed from superheroes as possible.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine: With a May 1st release, X-Men Origins:Wolverine will have Hugh Jackman back as the lead character in a storyset 20 years before the original X-Men movie. Focusing on Wolverine'sorigins as part of the Weapon X program and his vendetta againstarch-enemy Victor Creed, the film has generated a lot of buzz,particularly when Jackman publicly thanked Wolverine creator Len Weinat San Diego Comic-Con. While the film has recently been reported asneeding reshoots, the number of X-Men guest stars -- including Gambit,Deadpool and the Blob -- gives this movie a lot of cred with comicsfans, and with People's "Sexist Man Alive" in the lead role, it's got abuilt-in attraction for mainstream fans as well.
With such a wide array of movies based on stories from comic books,2009 could again claim the title of the year of the comic book movie.But with dozens more comic book movies in production and optioned forfilm, Hollywood's love affair with comics doesn't look to be endinganytime soon.
Related:
9 to Watch in 2009: The Movies
9 to Watch in 2009: The Comics
P. Craig Russell: Catching up - Coraline and More
- Original Story: 2009: The Year of the Comic Book Movie (Again)?
Newsarama.com is the go-to source for the latest comic book and genre entertainment news, reviews and commentary. Newsarama's passionate audience contributes to lively discussions ranging from classic and new comics to movies, TV, manga, anime and more. Watch previews, interviews and more on our video player, sneak peeks of new comics on our Comic Book Viewer and sign up for our RSS feeds. And be sure to join our community so you can voice your opinion on our articles and in our lively forums.
...(more) - 01 20 2009 8:29PM
American Idol Experiences a Brooke Whiteout
Los Angeles (E! Online) - American Idol just got a little less sweet 'n' simple. After a miss and a hit on Neil Diamond night, Brooke White was eliminated from the competition Wednesday, leaving David Archuleta, Jason Cast
ro, David Cook and bottom-two battler Syesha Mercado to keep on fighting for that chance at Idol glory.
"I just want to say thank you. It's going to be terrible for me, I know," the often prematurely apologetic White said, referring to the encore she knew she would be called upon to perform. As if she knew what was coming, she choked up as Ryan Seacrest went through the good-bye motions and then sobbed on Mercado's shoulder after hearing the bad news.
Despite the tears, the 24-year-old nanny from Arizona knew enough not to start and stop while taking on Diamond's "I Am...I Said" one last time.
Although it was arguably White's time to go, it meant Castro got to stay, even though he hasn't been that great since he took us "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"…where he apparently peaked. But so went the dreads-sporting pretty boy—with the sweet-yet-unversatile voice—into week nine.
Well, at least the fall of White meant the rise of Mercado—all the way to the final four after seemingly being earmarked for elimination weeks ago. To her credit, the theatrical songstress never gave up and even upped her game over the last few shows, perhaps taking advantage of her long-shot status to finally unleash her fetching personality.
And then there's Archuleta and Cook, neither of whom has ever faced the bottom rungs. Both were ushered to safety tonight, despite the great sea that separated their performances.
Cook continued to proficiently do the rocker thing on the Diamond tunes "I'm Alive" and "All I Really Need Is You," the latter of which was particularly good, but Archuleta went with the sing-along standards "Sweet Caroline" and "America" and ended up diving off the karaoke deep end.
"Amateurish," Simon Cowell deemed "Sweet Caroline" afterward.
But the ladies (and girls who can't feasibly be called ladies yet) just love the 17-year-old stud, so on he goes, without even an inkling of what being in the bottom two (or three, or seven, or nine) feels like.
Before any of the dramatics got underway, however, Seacrest took an opportunity to address Abdul's judging gaffe last night—largely just to refute the more vicious gossip out there, including speculation that the singer was less than "Straight Up" when she started to comment on Castro's second song before he'd sung it. (An interview with Abdul earlier in the day revealed that the slipup was one of those rehearsal-versus-live-show confusions.)
With that cleared up, it was on with the show, which included performances by Diamond and British popster Natasha Bedingfield.
And we knew, if we waited long enough, that those viewer-submitted questions would finally unearth something interesting. (That's a lie—admittedly, we never thought they'd get interesting.)
Tonight, a pleasant-sounding woman with a British accent phoned in to ask Cowell whether he most fondly remembered a kiss he shared with Paula on camera or the one he had with her "at the bottom of your garden when you were 9 years old."
A stunned Cowell asked, "Is this Tara Miller?"
And it was! Miller, being both Cowell's first crush and first kiss, really had called in to say hullo.
"I've had a lot of therapy, so I'm doing very well," she said when Paula asked whether she'd kicked the rabies yet.
Anyway, it was a very sweet, fun moment, capped off with Ryan's reminder to all the kids watching at home: "Nine years old is too young to kiss." (Note: He didn't say 9 is too young to vote.)
Next week, the final four will once again sing two songs apiece, tunes that helped shape or otherwise inspire rock 'n' roll as we know it today. Maroon 5 and Bo Bice will perform Wednesday.
...(more) - 05 1 2008 6:47PM

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