Odds & Ends

For years I've had the same gripe with the news media's fondness for April Fool's Day stories: there are too many true stories floating around that strain belief as it is. When real life has become completely absurd, how are we to spot the jokes? This is doubly so in the world of online movie rumour reporting, where a) Hollywood is particularly crazy; and b) so many of the stories run as genuine aren't true anyway.

A case in point: Ain't It Cool is running a story today that Pixar has picked up the rights to the cult property John Carter of Mars, and that the great Brad Bird (currently finishing Ratatouille) will direct. In live-action. With Pixar acting as an effects house, rather than an animation studio.

I immediately assumed that it's a practical joke, and I'm still inclined to think so (particularly when the source blog's reputed transition to official Disney mouthpiece also happened on April 1). But the fine, upstanding journalists of Ain't It Cool have made it clear (here) that they have run it believing it to be genuine. Whichever way it goes (and again, I'm pretty sure it's bogus) it kind of bears out my reservations about April Fool's Day.

Update: Confirmed bogus, by the source himself, in the comments.