Why did the coyote think he could outsmart a roadrunner? Well…
…based on the available evidence, it should have been a slam dunk.
Hat tip: Teresa Nielsen Hayden.
Author: Glenn Hauman
Richard Curtis (‘Blackadder’) writing ‘Doctor Who’ episode
Proving that everybody knows everybody in the British entertainment system, Richard Curtis, well known for writing Blackadder, Mr. Bean, Notting Hill, Love Actually, and the Bridget Jones screenplays, will be writing an episode of Doctor Who for the upcoming season, according to the BBC.
Considering Curtis’s long association with Rowan Atkinson, we feel we must show you Doctor Who: The Curse Of Fatal Death, starring Atkinson as the Doctor. Curtis didn’t write this, it was written by… new showrunner Steven Moffat. Hmmm…
‘GrimJack: The Manx Cat’ #2 in stores now
How backed up have things been here? I didn’t even get a chance to note that GrimJack: The Manx Cat #2 is already in stores. Silly me, I thought this was coming out this week.
Since new books aren’t shipping until Thursday this week, if you find yourself in a store on Wednesday, go pick this up along with issue #1. Ostrander and Truman at their bestest. IDW at their publishiest. And us, as always, at our busiest.
$140 million kill fee if Disney doesn’t get Marvel
I’m a sucker for extra details like this, and ICv2 picked up a doozy:
My question: does that kill fee have to be paid if government scuttles the deal? Say, if antitrust in the US or Europe says no? I gotta read the SEC filing more when I have a chance to breathe…
DragonCon Weekend!
Who said convention season was slowing down? Dragon*Con is this weekend in Atlanta, Pittsburgh is next weekend, Mid-Ohio, Baltimore, and Wizard Big Apple are next month… this is going to get exhausting.
Our favorite photo so far from the convention is from the lovely Felicia Day above: “Me and zombie Lincoln and zombie John Wilkes Booth at the zombie ball.”
Not sure how much news we’re going to get out of the convention, or whether this is just going to be a sultry summer con to wind down the season. Depends on what Marvney has to say…
Disney Kiddy Ride Fail
Since we haven’t picked on Disney in hours, and since we’ve heard people wondering if Disney is going to have trouble with potentially adult situations coming from Marvel, we’d just like to refresh people’s memory of the Disney character from the 90’s, Marsupalami…
Don’t ask where the rest of his tail is, either.
Comics (Company) Buyer’s Guide
Let’s review the scorecard:
- Disney just picked up Marvel, and already owns the assets from CrossGen.
- AOL Time Warner, through Warner Bros., owns DC Comics and subsidiary imprints Wildstorm, Vertigo, and CMX; and has a distribution and publishing arrangement with Archie for some characters.
- IDW is 50% owned by Starz.
- Dark Horse has a first look deal with NBC/Universal.
Who’s left on the table?
On the movie studio side: Viacom/Paramount, Fox/NewsCorp, and Sony/Columbia. MGM and United Artists are a bit small to go shopping for their own comics company, although they could set up first look deals.
On the comics side: BOOM! must be looking very tempting. Dark Horse could still be bought. Image– who would you deal with? Top Cow, possibly. Dynamic Forces licenses stuff from movie studios, not the other way around. Avatar is mostly writiers who probably control their sub rights, so there’s little to be gained in an acquisition. Who after that? Slave Labor? Archaia? Aspen? Archie? Radical? Top Shelf?
My guess for a sleeper acquistion? Oni probably looks tempting to somebody.
But that’s just my take on it. What about you? What do you think the next big move is going to be?
Meanwhile, in ‘Superman’ movie news…
If you ever wonder why DC can’t catch a break in movies while Marvel’s going gangbusters, consider this piece from the New York Post about the producers of Superman:
MOVIE mogul Jon Peters has been ordered to stay 100 yards away from his “Superman: Man of Steel” co-producer, Brian Quintana — for allegedly threatening to kapow! him.
The battle between the producers flared up on Aug. 12 when Peters
was giving a deposition at a Los Angeles law office for a sexual
harassment lawsuit Quintana filed against him. According to a
transcript of the deposition, Peters shouted, “I am going to cross this
table and beat the [bleep]ing [bleep] out of you. I am going to kick
your ass.”Quintana, 41, told Page Six that Peters lunged at him during the session, adding, “His lawyer had to hold him back.”
A police report Quintana filed Aug. 14 reads: “Mr. Peters
threatened to break my legs. I am afraid, nervous and anxious that Jon
Peters is going to hurt or kill me.”Then, on Aug. 19, Quintana got a court order forbidding Peters from
threatening, assaulting or harassing him. A hearing is set for Sept. 9
to decide how long the order remains in effect.Relations between the co-producers have been more charged than
kryptonite. As we first reported last year, Quintana filed a suit
claiming Peters sexually roughed him up and subjected him to
“continuous and pervasive sexual harassment,” including “multiple
instances where he was physically [and] sexually harassed by Peters.”Peters’ lawyer, Joe Yanny, told us, “This
restraining order is ridiculous. Mr. Peters did not threaten Mr.
Quintana. He is trying to manipulate the system.” He said Peters “lost
his temper” at the deposition because Quintana was throwing kisses at
him. He also said Peters obtained a restraining order to prevent
Quintana from saying he was an “employee” of Peters.
Remember, if there isn’t a Superman theatrical movie in production by 2011, the Siegel estate gets millions. I wonder if DC can take it out of Peters’s scalp.
‘Lobo’ goes to Hollywood (really!)
Heidi has the goods:
Manly director Guy Ritchie is set to direct the LOBO movie… let’s start the campaign to cast defining artist Simon Bisley in a supporting role NOW! There’s gonna be so much bonus testosterone on this project that Megan Fox is gonna turn into a sprint champion. Warner Bros. has locked Guy Ritchie to direct “Lobo,” the live action adaptation of the DC Comics drama about an alien interstellar bounty hunter. Don Payne wrote the most recent script draft, and Joel Silver, Akiva Goldsman and Andrew Rona will produce.
In the meantime, expect a price bump in back issues of the book to the right.
Does Disney buying Marvel mean ‘Spider-Man: Turn On The Dark’ is back to Broadway?
The Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark may not be as dead as previously thought.
According to a report in Variety, the rumor mill is spinning with word that the financially troubled production will resume production this week or maybe next, with at least some folks being called back to work. The production stalled earlier last month due to “cash-flow” issues. There is no official word as of yet.
They’re saying there is no connection to production on the musical picking up again and Disney acquiring Marvel, but I don’t believe that for a minute. Disney has tremendous experience working on Broadway, including Julie Taymor’s previous adaption of The Lion King for Broadway.
No word yet on if the musical will open on time… it had been set to begin previews on February 25, 2010, and officially open in March.
