Universal Pictures will turn a century old on April 30, and in advance of their 100th birthday, the studio has trotted out a new (shiny!) logo that touts their triple-digit age. Why they didn’t get Willard Scott to do one of those Smuckers Jam birthday label shout-out things on The Today Show, I simply don’t know, but there’s still time! Of course, that new logo is neat and all (and, again, shiny!), but what’s most exciting about this news is the studio’s announcement that they will also celebrate their centennial with the restoration of thirteen of its most famous films. THR reports that the studio has restored All Quiet on the Western Front, The Birds, Abbott and Costello’s Buck Privates, Dracula (1931), the Spanish-language Dracula (which was filmed on the same set at night), Frankenstein, Jaws, Schindler’s List, Out of Africa, Pillow Talk, Bride of Frankenstein, The Sting, and To Kill a Mockingbird. The studio plans to release the restorations throughout 2012. Many of the restorations will be sold in “collectible book style packaging with memorabilia.” Moreover, Universal is reportedly quite happy with the work on previously damaged films, particularly when it comes to crisper sound in Frankenstein and “appalling graininess” in To Kill a Mockingbird. Also, fans of Out of Africa can breathe a sigh of relief – as “Meryl Streep loses a weird wobble in her walk possibly caused by projectors that enlarged the sprocket holes.” I wish it was Universal’s 100th birthday every day!

This week, on a very special Reject Radio, we discuss the finer points of Bea Arthur’s genius while attempting futilely to discuss Year One and the world of remakes taking over theaters like something that really effectively takes over something. Like Genghis Khan.

You’d think that Universal was either (a) in some financial trouble that required safe brand decisions or (b) completely out of good ideas, but I have a feeling that they just see a market for bringing back all of their iconic monsters from back in the day, just because.

This weekend’s release of The Uninvited reminded us that men aren’t the only ones scaring us to death in thrillers and horror, so we decided to delve deeper into the history of the women that make our skin crawl.