If you’ve ever said something happens once in a blue moon, well, today’s the day.
According to the Farmer’s Almanac definition of the third full moon in a quarter of the year when there are four full moons, today is a blue moon.
So now you need a new excuse.
I’ve been a fan of director David Fincher since he used to direct music videos. His visual style has always been very interesting to me and many of his films, particularly Se7en and Fight Club, rank among my all-time favorites. So, when Fincher decides to sign-on to a new film, as he just did today, I start to get very happy.
Fincher’s latest film, according to the Hollywood Reporter, will be the sexual thriller Black Hole, based on the graphic novel by Charlie Burns. This story follows a group of High-School students whose lives are dramatically altered when they come into contact with a sexually-transmitted disease known as "the teen plague." Then, while they try to deal with the social stigma and physical effects of the disease, that’s when the murders start.
Not only will Fincher be handling the directing chores, which already makes this a must-see movie for me, but the graphic novel will be adapted for the screen by two of the most-talented writers working today: Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman.
Fincher is currently wrapping up his next release The Curious Case of Benjamin Button starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, but there’s no word yet if Black Hole will be his next film or if it will be one of the others he currently has in development including Torso (based on Brien Bendis’ graphic novel), The Devil in the White City and The Killer.
Forget whether or not Barack Obama is “black enough.” The newest wrinkle in the Presidential Campaign That Never Ended is whether or not John McCain is “conservative enough.” Evidently, according to two of the biggest conservative blowhards on the air – Rush “Dr. Feelgood” Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, She-Wolf of the Neo-Cons – the answer is “no.” 
Garth Ennis ends his four-year run on the Marvel MAX Punisher series next month, but fans won’t have long to wait for his next project. War is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle #1 hits shelves the same month.
War is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle features the return of Phantom Eagle, a Marvel character who first appeared in 1968. In this interview with Publishers Weekly, Ennis discusses his decision to leave Punisher, the draw of war-themed subject matter and his affinity for adult-oriented fare.
“Writing for adults has always made sense to me. The [backwards] nature of the comics business, with most people writing and drawing stories under the restrictions of children’s/teen’s publishing, is something I find rather frustrating—particularly as the actual audience is mostly well over 20,” said Ennis. “That doesn’t mean every single story should read like The Punisher; it just means you should have free reign to write each story as it feels appropriate.”
Ennis also hints that return to the Punisher character is certainly plausible, as he is the "kind of character you never completely say goodbye to."
(And yes, we realize that PW referred to the character as "Iron Eagle" — it’s an understandable mistake. The movie certainly was a classic.)
For more on War is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle, conducted this interview last month with Nick Lowe, the editor of the series.
I’m not sure what you think of director Roland Emmerich’s previous films such as Independence Day, Stargate, The Day After Tomorrow or Godzilla, but I enjoyed them all. Well, at least the first two. But no matter your feelings about the director’s earlier work, you gotta admit that his latest effort, the prehistoric adventure 10,000 B.C., looks pretty darn interesting — judging by what we’ve seen so far.
Fortunately, you’ll get another chance to find out if Emmerich’s latest is for you because there’s a new, just-released trailer for the film over at Yahoo movies. Chock full of action, explosions and plenty of giant CGI creatures, this movie looks like a great ride and this trailer only serves to peak my interest in the film even further.
The film, which features Omar Shariff as well as a cast of relative unknowns including Steve Strait, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis and Tim Barlow, tells the epic story of D’Leh (Straight) a young mammoth hunter and his journey through uncharted territory to secure the future of his tribe. Along the way he faces many challenges and pitfalls until finally, his very life is at stake during a massive fight to determine not only his future, but the future of everything he’s ever known.
10,000 B.C. hits theaters November 30th.
Recently, NBC Universal announced it will offer full episodes of “classic, fan-favorite series” as streaming videos on four of its network websites beginning later this month. Some of the "classic" TV shows that you’ll be able to get at the various sites include: Swamp Thing, The Crow, the ’70s version of Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, featuring Gil Gerard as Buck and Twiki the robot, Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, William Shatner’s Tek War and Tremors.
As we reported previously, Toshiba decided to end HD-DVD so the format conflict between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD is over with Blu-Ray coming out on top. Now, with HD-DVD not an option, Universal has decided to throw its hat completely into the Blu-Ray ring and release all of its High-Def content exclusively in the format.
This announcement leaves Paramount and Dreamworks as the only major players still releasing content on HD-DVD. On switching completely to Blu-Ray, Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Home Entertainment and Universal Digital, had this to say about the company’s decision:
"While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray. The path for widespread adoption of the next-generation platform has finally become clear. Universal will continue its aggressive efforts to broaden awareness for high-def’s unparalleled offerings in interactivity and connectivity, at an increasingly affordable price. The emergence of a single, high-definition format is cause for consumers, as well as the entire entertainment industry, to celebrate."
So, what does this mean for current and soon-to-be-released Universal titles already in the HD-DVD format? Who knows. Still, after this announcement, how soon will it be before Paramount drops HD-DVD as well? Nobody in Hollywood likes to hang out with a "loser" so I’ll bet its just a matter of days, not weeks, before we get the announcement. Of course, if we do, we’ll bring you all the details right here at ComicMix.
Today, the Hollywood Reporter has a story highlighting the economic effects the recently settled WGA strike has had on the local Los Angeles economy. Citing an Economic Forcast Report set to be released today by Jack Kyser, noted LA Economist and head of the LA Economic Development Corp, the article paints a somewhat grim picture of the post-strike LA economic situation.
Among the points made by Keyser in the 71-page report is that the strike, which started November 5 and was settled earlier this month, has already cost LA an estimated $2.5 billion in lost revenue. That figure includes lost wages from TV shows that were canceled and films that were put on hold as well as losses by a vast array of support services from, according to the article, "limo drivers to florists."
Kyser also suggested in the report that the cancellation of the Golden Globes alone resulted in a $60 million loss to the LA economy. In addition, other factors will contribute to the economic situation in LA including, according to the article, that leaders of the Screen Actors Guild are "talking tough," so there is growing concern they will go on strike after the union’s labor contract with the studios expires on June 30.
Dark Horizons has posted a pair of blurry photos of an action figure based on Two Face, the character played by Aaron Eckhart in the upcoming Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight. The photo was taken during this week’s Toy Fair convention, at a press-restricted event.
This is the first indication of what the character will look like in the film.
The photos interestingly reveal some notable changes from both the comic’s look and his previous film appearance in 1995’s "Batman Forever". Rather than a suit utilising different colors, this one is the same navy blue suit but the scarred half seems more scuffed and crumpled. The facial scarring does not fully encompass half his head rather about a third of it and is dark purple in color. One eye looks notably red and the surrounding socket damaged (the most likely use for the CG will be here).
For a larger version of this photo, as well as the other photo, visit Dark Horizons.
(via SHH)
Here at ComicMix, we’ve already shown you Mattel’s "Infinite Heroes" and other DC Universe products, but there were even more comics-inspired collectibles on display just a block away at DC’s showroom in New York City’s "Toy District".
From upcoming lines of Minimates, action figures inspired by classic stories and box sets to statues, busts and "trophy room" replicas, there was, well… a lot to absorb. Heck, they even had Superman’s Cape.
After the jump, check out our complete photo tour of DC’s showroom, including several characters receiving their first action-figure treatment in comics history!
Columns / Glenn Hauman / News
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