Yearly Archive: 2008

‘The Dark Knight’ Returns to IMAX in January

  • News
  • September 12, 2008

Warner Bros. has already scheduled a re-release for The Dark Knight in January, designed specifically to influence Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voters. Warner is working with Imax to have the film play on several of their screens during the crucial voting period, to remind everyone the summer blockbuster was also a critical darling.

"It’s just a matter of bringing it back as a reminder for people," a studio insider told The Hollywood Reporter.

Prognosticators have put director Christopher Nolan and the late actor Heath Ledger on their lists of potential nominees.

The film will be released on DVD in time for Christmas although details have yet to be released.
 

Boyle may Adapt Pratchett

  • News
  • September 11, 2008

Danny Boyle may switch from zombies to fantasy as his next project may well be an animated adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s Truckers. He will collaborate on the screenplay with Millions scribe Frank Cottrell Boyce.

Boyle told Coming Soon that Truckers, the first volume of the Bromeliad trilogy, will be done in association with DreamWorks, which acquired rights to the books in 2001. "[Animation is] a weird different discipline, it’s very strange," Boyle told the website. "You’re more like a ringmaster, kind of organizing this huge army of illustrators who can change the movie. It’s really weird. They often do scripts and they have no gags in them at all, but then you see the finished film and it’s full of funny gags, and they say that it’s not in the script, that all comes through the process of the animators. It’s like learning the skill of letting certain ones of them off their leash to do the gags."

Truckers was first published in 1989, followed in 1990 with Diggers and Wings. The story features Nomes, little beings coexisting on Earth with humans who eventually learn of their origins and work towards returning “home”.
 

The Eighth Doctor will be Back

  • News
  • September 11, 2008

The Sun continues to spill Doctor Who secrets and today they report that Paul McGann is headed back to the franchise to reprise his role as the eighth Doctor.  He will be seen in one of the four Specials to be shot this fall for 2009 airing.  His Doctor will appear in flashbacks that will finally show people aspects of the Time War.  The long locks he sported in the 1996 feature film will be a gone.

The tabloid’s usual unnamed source told them, “Fans loved Paul’s Doctor and feel he was never given the proper chance to shine. Reference is often made to the Time War which wiped out the Time Lords and this will give them a taste of that.” David Tenant, the current Doctor, will of course also be in the episode.

McGann agreed to play the Doctor ina telefilm as the BBC, Universal Studios and the Fox network attempted to reboot the franchise and hoped the film’s success would lead to a new series.  The telefilm aired in the states on May 14, 1996 to an audience not yet familiar with the Doctor and the abysmal ratings derailed series plans. It did phenomenally well in the UK where The Doctor was still very popular.

McGann, did though, play the Doctor in a series of audio dramas from Big Finish Productions. He also allowed his likeness to be used for covers of original novels featuring his incarnation’s further exploits.
 

ComicMix Radio: Cameras Roll On The Battlestar Film

  • News
  • September 11, 2008

Production began this week on the next Battlestar:Galactica TV movie and fans are rejoicing. However, there is one cast member who is still in shock that his character has survived this long. We talk to him and get a few bits of news on Caprica as well, plus:

  • Death Note hits it big in NYC
  • McFarlane sculpts a Halo Wars line
  • Sarah Jane returns with a series of two part Adventures

And on the weekend, we have some big news involving ComicMix and the Baltimore ComicCon that you do not want to miss. Then, just like now, all you need to do is  Press the Button!
 

 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-6034459 or RSS!

 

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‘Sigmund’ Resurrected for Feature Film

  • Uncategorized
  • September 11, 2008

sigmund-5600622Following Universal Studio’s big screen adaptation of Land of the Lost, the company has signed to do the same with another show created by Sid and Marty Krofft: Sigmund and the Sea Monsters.

The Kroffts will produce the new film, according to Variety, with Jimmy Miller. Dana Gould (The Simpsons) has been hired to write the new screenplay.

The original Sigmund, a kindly monster kicked out his home by his nastier brothers, ran Saturday mornings on NBC from 1973-1975. Sigmund was found by two boys who hid him in their clubhouse, somewhat reminiscent of DC’s beloved Stanley and His Monster. Sigmund was played by Billy Barty and his human protectors were played by Family Affair‘s Johnny Whitaker and Scott Kolden. The 29 epsidoes that aired over the two seasons featured character actors including Margaret Hamilton, Mary Wickes, and Rip Taylor.

The Kroffts, who cannily retained ownership of their shows, have enjoyed renewed interest.  Their signature hit, H.R. Pufnstuff, is also in the works at Sony.  The Kroftts told the trade they would love to see feature film versions of their other series, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, Lidsville, The Bugaloos, Dr. Shrinker, Bigfoot and Wildboy and Wonderbug.
 

Marvel Studios Touts Year’s Successes

  • News
  • September 11, 2008

Marvel Studios Chairman David Maisel told investors at Merrill Lynch that their debut this year was” arguably the most successful" in modern history. He touted facts and figures for the smash success of Iron Man and coupled it with the so-so performance of Incredible Hulk to show their dominance.  While claiming Iron Man is the 21st top grossing film in domestic history, adjusted for inflation, it’s actually 113th.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, he has compared their 2010 Thor film as akin to The Lord of the Rings.  At present, no director or cast has been attached.

Maisel also indicated the films will continue to seed characters and threads from film-to-film comparing it with the Star Wars films as opposed to the organic manner in which Stan Lee populated the Marvel Universe. The cameos were "a taste of what’s to follow."

While announcing nothing new, he reiterated the planned 2010 releases for Iron Man 2 and Thor and the 2011 releases of The First Avenger: Captain America and The Avengers.  He made no mention of the other films rounding out the 10 films Paramount agreed to co-finance including Ant Man. 

Nor did he make mention of Sony’s competing 2011 release, Spider-Man 4, or 20th-Century Fox’s Marvel properties including next year’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

"And with our track record, we can normally keep those release dates pretty clean," Maisel noted. He also indicated the advance scheduling allows them to line up premiere licensing and merchandising partners.  He pointed to the forthcoming theme parks in Dubai and South Korea as partnerships aiming the studio and its characters for global domination well into the 21st century.

Also yesterday, actress Eva Mendes pooh-poohed the notion of a Ghost Rider sequel, telling MTV, "No, I think Ghost Rider had its moment. I don’t know about a sequel, but I don’t think it needs one. I was so proud of it. It was fun…but I think it’s done…but look, hey, if it’s Nicolas Cage again – I’ll do anything with him."

‘Dollhouse’ Delayed for 2 Weeks

  • News
  • September 11, 2008

Zap2it is reporting that production has been shut down on Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse for two weeks. If this sounds familiar, it’s because Fox just did the same thing on 24 and for the same reason: a chance to tighten the scripts.

Whedon apparently had been so involved in directing two episodes, he was neglecting the writers’ room and the scripts weren’t ready. He approached Fox and asked for the time off and they were happy to grant it since the midseason replacement wasn’t needed until after the holidays. Whedon had directed two of the three episodes shot to date.  The series order is for eight episodes meaning a good sized proportion of the series is now in the can.

A Fox rep told the website, "We have every confidence that [the extra time] will allow Joss to make the show the best it can possibly be. It’s very rare that you have a head writer who is also directing two episodes in a row. But we are happy that Joss is directing, because this is his vision."

 

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Review: ‘Scrambled Ink’

  • Uncategorized
  • September 11, 2008

scrambled-ink4-2221881

Scrambled Ink
Edited by Anonymous
Dark Horse, July 2008, $19.99

[[[Scrambled Ink]]] is the latest in the recent flurry of comics anthologies by animators, following the high-profile and very successful Flight series (which recently hit its fifth volume) and the slightly newer but still popular [[[Out of Picture]]] (which had a second volume earlier this year). It was published quietly a few months back, and doesn’t seem to have made much of a stir.

And that’s a real shame, since Scrambled Ink is more inventive and ambitious than the most recent [[[Flight]]] and Out of Picture books put together. (And that despite Scrambled Ink being a physically smaller book with only six stories in it.) I’m not sure why that would be – Scrambled Ink comes from animators who worked on [[[Bee Movie]]], not what one thinks of as an excitingly transgressive piece of cinema – but these DreamWorks animators are definitely doing something different from their Blue Sky compatriots from Out of Picture.

Two of the tales in Scrambled Ink – “[[[Kadogo: The Next Big Thing]]]” by David G. Derrick, Jr. and Ken Morrissey & Keith Baxter’s “[[[Greedy Grizzly]]]” – would have been right at home in one of the other anthologies: they’re morality tales, with animal casts, that could easily have been afterschool specials or “heartwarming” animated shorts. Both also have excellent art – Derrick with an earth-toned watercolor palette very appropriate to his African story and Baxter with an appealingly loose version of a cute-animal children’s’ book style. These stories could have fit in perfectly well in [[[Flight 12]]] or Out of Picture 9, but here in Scrambled Ink, they’re notable for seeming a little less refined and a little more obvious than the other four stories.

(more…)

Marvel & DC News from Retailer Summit

  • News
  • September 11, 2008

Heidi MacDonald’s The Beat has a nice breakdown of the various news nuggets that came out of the just-concluded Diamond Retailers’ Summit in Las Vegas. Here are some of the highlights from the two majors:

In addition to Dark Reign, Marvel announced that television ads will run to promote Secret Invasion and The Stand miniseries.

The company recognized the success of its Invincible Iron Man series and has planned one for next May when X-Men Origins: Wolverine opens, joining Wolverine, Wolverine: Origins and Wolverine First Class. Similarly, three new What If ?one-shots will explore fresh takes on major events.

Marvel is gearing up for its 70th anniversary and part of the plans will include a new Marvel Index, a second volume of Marvel’s Greatest Collections and the inauguration of trade paperback versions of their Masterworks, commencing in January and continuing with one title per month.

In storylines, the third Marvel Zombies miniseries will be set in the core Marvel universe and they promised the return of the mutant Psylocke. Teases included Sinister 666, a female Black Panther.
  (more…)

Gregory MacDonald: RIP

  • News
  • September 11, 2008

The Associated Press reports the sad news that author Gregory MacDonald died of cancer at his home in Tennessee.  Best known as the author of the Flynn books and Kevin Smith’s favorite Fletch books, he wrote 26 books in all.  In addition, he served as president of the Mystery Writers of America, and won two Edgar awards.  He was 71 years old.

With the success of the Fletch books and the ensuing celebrity, MacDonald moved to a farm in Pulanski, Tennessee.  He is best known there for his work against the Ku Klux Klan, where he was a founding member of Giles Countians United.  According to his neighbors, he was a passionate advocate for tolerance:

“Greg Mcdonald was an intricate part of the effort to combat bigotry in the face of visits to Pulaski by the KKK and Aryan Nation,” said Bettye Higgins, another founding member of GCU. “He willingly lent his name, his energy and his enthusiasm as a founding member of Giles Countians United, and he was unwavering in his support.”

 

He is survived by his wife, Cheryle, and five children.  His last book, a revised edition of Souvenirs of a Blown World, was be published recently by Seven Stories Press.

 

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