Author: Robert Greenberger

‘The Straw Men’ Optioned for Film

  • News
  • December 3, 2008

Michael Marshall Smith’s The Straw Men novel and its graphic novel adaptation have both been optioned by Benderspink for feature film according to Variety. The crime novel was released in 2002 and was adapted by Zenescope Entertainment this past summer. Envisioned as a trilogy, the first book involves serial killers, some apparently random brutal murders, and a dark conspiracy.  The film will focus on ex-homicide detective John Zandt who comes out of retirement to track down the serial killer who may have been responsible for the murder of his daughter.

The film will be produced by Benderspink’s Chris Bender and J.C. Spink along with Zenescope’s Joe Brusha and Ralph Tedesco serving as executive producers.

Benderspink has been one of the most active Hollywood production companies engaged in adapting comic book properties.  Among the numerous comic-based projects that Benderspink has initiated are adaptations of Y: The Last Man, Pet Robots, Pencilneck, Zombies of Mass Destruction, Last Blood, Starkweather, Area 52, The Ghouly Boys, Power and the Glory, Drafted, and The Gray Area.
 

Scott Frank Turns ‘Apes’ into ‘Cesar’

  • News
  • December 3, 2008

Genesis: Apes, the reported remake of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, was acknowledged as a live project by Fox president Tom Rothman and now 20th Century Fox has turned the project over to Scott Frank (Minority Report).  The writer/director has already renamed the film Cesar and told CHUD that the film is an original story and not a remake.

The movie, the site notes, “will not feature talking monkeys, and it will not end with chimpanzees running wild in the streets, taking over the world. But it isn’t entirely divorced from the world of Planet of the Apes, either. In fact, Frank sees his movie as the opening chapter in a saga that could span the thousand years between today and a world where apes rule.”

Scott explained that he’s been researching modern day science and extrapolating what it would take to evolve common apes into a “hyper-intelligent chimpanzee”. In addition to the hard science, he intends to make audiences relate to the characters including the simian dubbed Cesar.

CHUD reports Scott is at work on rewriting the script he inherited from Rick Jaffa (The Relic) and Amanda Silver (Eye for an Eye) in addition to figuring out how he can work with real animals and not CGI creations or people in suits. He also anticipates a final go or no go from Fox by February which means at earliest, Cesar wouldn’t be seen in theaters until 2010.

Review: ‘The Day The Earth Stood Still’ DVD

The very best science fiction comments on today’s problems wrapped around a provocative story involving characters and situations that people can relate to.  They are also snapshots of moments in time and The Day the Earth Stood Still is a wonderful look at America between the end of World War II and the Cold War that gripped the world for decades.

There are few genre films of this era that hold up today and if you have never seen it, this two-disc commemorative set, on sale today, is well worth your attention.

The film is loosely based on a Harry Bates short story but thoroughly rewritten by Edward North and directed with a documentary and film noir feel by Robert Wise.  The tale of first contact is nothing new, but it’s all in the telling.  In this case, the film and its characters take matters very seriously. Wise is to be credited for giving us a culturally diverse montage of reactions throughout the movie, so we’re reminded that the arrival of the flying saucer affects everyone living on Earth.

Wise and Fox’s executives were smart to cast newcomer Michael Rennie as Klaatu since audiences had no preconceived notions when they see him, as opposed to Spencer Tracy, who we learn in the extras, wanted the role.  His lean figure and serious demeanor made him appear otherworldly and human at the same time. He’s paired nicely with Patricia Neal as a widow raising her young son, Bobby (Billy Gray).

So typical of mankind, no sooner does Klaatu emerge from the starship than a nervous G.,I. fires and wounds him, activating his security robot, the mammoth Gort.  When Klaatu asks the President’s secretary to arrange a meeting with world leaders, we get a little political satire as leaders of state put ego ahead of statesmanship. Klaatu decides to go out among mankind and find out something about the people of Earth and there he takes up residence at the boarding house where Neal lives.

The scenes of Klaatu and Bobby touring Washington are nice as we see things through fresh eyes which leads Klaatu to find Prof. Barnhardt (Sam Jaffe), the stand-in for Albert Einstein, the era’s recognized smartest man alive. Fear wins the day as Klaatu is shot once more but miraculously survives in time to deliver a warning.  Mankind’s use of atomic weapons must never expand into space, threatening the galactic peace.  If they cannot do this, the planet will be reduced to a cinder. And then he leaves, mission accomplished.

Sure it’s a cautionary tale and far more simplistically told than the remake coming December 12 which changes fear of warfare to fear of ecological disaster.  Still, for its time, the movie is quite sophisticated in its script, direction, acting and message.  There’s an ironic moment as we see medical staff marvel over Klaatu’s prolonged lifespan as they light up cigarettes.

The first disc opens with Exclusive First Look At The New Movie [[[The Day The Earth Stood Still]]] which probably should have followed the feature.

The extras put the film into context starting with archival commentary from Wise (who died in 2005) and Nicholas Meyer (who followed his footsteps as a Star Trek director). The Making of The Day the Earth Stood Still does a nice job telling you the basics behind the film’s history but it’s the second disc that gives you “Decoding ‘Klaatu Barada Nikto’: Science Fiction as Metaphor” giving you the historic perspective.  The first disc also offers up “The Mysterious, Melodious Theremin” which even puts Bernard Hermann’s haunting score into perspective.

On the second disc there’s also a fairly rote look at the history of flying saucers plus bio pieces on Bates and North.  North made an anti-atomic bomb documentary, [[[Race To Oblivion]]], starring Burt Lancaster, this is also included.  Original trailers and a 1951 Fox Movietonews  round out the visuals. Still galleries including lobby cards, one sheets and the complete shooting script.

Troy Little’s ‘Angora Napkin’ Headed for Animation

  • Uncategorized
  • December 3, 2008

13835angoranapkinlg-4746538Troy Little’s graphic novel Angora Napkin is being adapted as an animated project to air on Canada’s Teletoon in March of 2009. 

IDW will publish the book as a 152-page hardcover in January and the publisher describes the book as “an adult comedy about a girl band pop trio.”
 
Little (Chiaroscuro) is involved in all aspects of the production of the Angora Napkin animated pilot.

Teletoon, in a Canada wide search for new and original adult animation ideas, selected Angora Napkin to be developed as an animated pilot. “The idea of Angora Napkin was originally developed by Nick Cross and me as an animated series so it’s really interesting to see the project come full circle” Little said in a release.  “We’ve teamed up with Mugisha Enterprises to produce the cartoon.  Both Nick and I are putting many hours into the cartoon and are involved in all aspects of production to ensure the unique look of the show remains fresh and creator driven”.

Troy believes the timing of the book and cartoon will do much to compliment one another and help draw attention to the product. “Angora Napkin is one of those quirky little concepts that could potentially draw a cult status. It’s very subversive humor coupled with a healthy dose of sex and violence”.

Angora Napkin graphic novel synopsis:

Halloween is upon us! Historically this ancient event has been identified as the day in which the boundary between the living and the dead becomes unstable. It is on this fateful night that we find Beatrice, Molly, and Mallory, the pop music group known as Angora Napkin, running behind schedule for their performance at the big Halloween bash. Taking a short cut on a dark, twisting mountain road, the girls cross paths with one of the wandering dead. Undaunted by such an unusual encounter, they offer him a lift to a secret underground party. It is here that they are introduced to a lonely, misunderstood zombie boy named Dennis who they unwittingly convince to eradicate life on Earth in order to keep the party of the undead going for all eternity! Will Angora Napkin be able to set right the horror they’ve unleashed upon humanity and still make the show on time, or will we all become worm food in the wake of the zombie apocalypse?

Devil’s Due Restructures

  • Uncategorized
  • December 2, 2008

devils-due-publishing-logo-5538662Devil’s Due Publishing has restructured their staff, with CEO PJ Bickett stepping down and two other staffers being laid off.

Bickett told Comic Book Resources, " I have officially separated from Devil’s Due." Replacing him on an interim basis will be DDP’s founder Josh Blaylock.

The lay offs include Editor Cody DeMatteis and Marketing Manager Brian Warmoth with Blaylock telling CBR, that their layoffs were “absolutely no fault of their own.”

"I have really enjoyed being a part of the DDP family for the past several years, and now it is time for me to move on to new challenges," Bickett said. "It was an honor working with such talented people, and I look forward to watching the company evolve."

Blaylock said in a release, "Coming from a strategic planning background, PJ was able to bring a fresh set of eyes to Devil’s Due. It has given us a unique perspective on the industry and where it’s going in years to come, and helped better prepare us for that."

Blaylock helped found the creative services outfit Kunoichi, Inc..and has been concentrating on that in lieu of DDP.  Now, Bickett will be spending most of his time on Kunoichi’s operations.  They recently entered into an agreement to purchase Arachia Comics.

Kunoichi and DDP have shared lineage and even shared Chicago offices blurring the line between the two. DDP currently works out of Los Angeles offices.

DDP has made its name with licensed properties, notably G.I. Joe and Halloween but lost the former to IDW and has suffered financially for it.  Their best known original title is Hack/Slash, which has been optioned by Rogue Pictures, a division of Universal Studios that just happens to be up for sale itself.
 

‘Green Lantern’ Completes Third Draft Script

  • News
  • December 2, 2008

Yesterday, we speculated that Green Lantern was the DC hero next going before the cameras and MTV’s Splash Page then ran an interview with co-screenwriter Marc Guggenheim that confirms this projection.

“This morning, we sat down to talk Green Lantern,” Guggenheim told MTV, “and we ended up riffing for an hour and a half on another, much more obscure character. Sometimes, you just have to roll with it when inspiration strikes, you know? I’m sure the studio wouldn’t be happy about it, but we’re not going to blow the deadline. We’ll get it in.”

The screenplay was written by Guggenheim, Michael Green (Superman/Batman) and Greg Berlanti (Eli Stone) and after three drafts, they think it’s about ready for Berlanti to direct. Locations have been scouted and production designs have been crafted by Aaron Sims, who is also working on X-Men Origins: Magneto for director David S. Goyer.

“[The changes are] nothing that’s affecting the storyline, really,” he said. “It’s pretty well set. But sometimes we’ll move a scene to a different location for budget purposes, perhaps in an already established location instead of a new one. It’s a question of, which locations can we live without? It’s a constant process to streamline what you’re going through, even after the film is shot, when you’re cutting things in the edit. That’s what the rewrite process is like, how you sand down the roughness of the a movie to its smoothest.”

Guggenheim also noted that a cameo for reporter Clark Kent appears in the script leading to speculation if Warner would go with Tom Welling (Smallville) or Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) for the wink to the greater DC Universe.

“There were rumors that Tom Welling would have a cameo in Batman Begins as a young Clark Kent, to meet up with a young Bruce Wayne,” Guggenheim said. “But you have to be careful when you do things like that, because it sounds great in concept, but when you sit down to watch it, it poses the danger of pulling you out of the film.”

He refused to talk about the current rumor of Ryan Gosling being eyed to play test pilot Hal Jordan.

Sci Fi Finally Green Lights ‘Caprica’

  • News
  • December 2, 2008

In an overdue announcement, Sci Fi Channel has formally picked up Caprica as an ongoing series.  The show, a prequel to Battlestar Galactica, will star Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales, Paula Malcomson and Polly Walker in a story set fifty years prior to BSG.

Variety describes Caprica as a “Family-drama-themed series will focus on the Earthlike planet of Caprica as two rival families deal with, among other topical issues, the broader implications of their society’s emerging artificial intelligence technology sector.”

Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, along with Remi Aubuchon (24) will executive produce as they have on BSG. Caprica‘s pilot was co-written by Aubuchon and Moore and directed by Jeffrey Reiner (Friday Night Lights).

A promo for the series can be found at the Sci Fi website with a “Coming Soon” despite the trades saying it won’t air before 2010. Production will begin in the summer of 2009 while BSG will begin airing its final ten episodes in January.

"Battlestar Galactica was absolutely our flagship show. It put us on the map and helped transform the perception of the network," Sci Fi president Dave Howe told Variety. "We want people to come to this who have never heard of Battlestar Galactica. I think, because (Galactica‘s) backdrop was space and spaceships, there was a barrier to entry for some viewers. Caprica has none of that. It’s an intense family drama set on an Earthlike planet, in the near future, speaking to a lot of the ethical dilemmas that we as a human race are going to have to face very shortly." (more…)

International Animation Award Nominees Named

  • News
  • December 2, 2008

The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, announced nominations for its 36th Annual Annie Awards, recognizing the year’s best animated features, TV productions, commercials, video games and short subjects and a host of individual achievements.  DreamWorks Animation leads the way with a total of 27 feature nods, including 17 for Kung Fu Panda, followed by Walt Disney Animation Studios, which received 9 nominations, and Pixar with 8. 

Nickelodeon leads the way with 12 television nominations. 

The Annie Awards will be handed out at a ceremony on Friday, January 30, 2009, at UCLA’s Royce Hall in LA. 

http://www.annieawards.org

Animated Feature

Bolt – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Kung Fu Panda – DreamWorks Animation
$9.99 – Sherman Pictures/Lama Films
Wall-E – Pixar Animation Studios
Waltz With Bashir – Sony Pictures Classics/Bridgit Folman, Les Films D’ici, Razor Films

Animated Home Entertainment Production

Batman: Gotham Knight – Warner Bros. Animation
Christmas Is Here Again – Easy To Dream Entertainment
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs – The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Justice League: The New Frontier – Warner Bros. Animation
The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning – DisneyToon Studios (more…)

‘Ghost Whisperer’ Comic now goes Mobile

  • News
  • December 2, 2008

IDW Publishing has licensed their Ghost Whisperer comic book for repurposing on mobile phone to  iVerse Media. Ghost Whisperer: The Haunted #1 is now available at the iTunes App Store. 

The high profile title is based on the hit CBS series featuring Jennifer Love Hewitt as Melinda Gordon, the medium who helps ghosts cross over.  The five-issue miniseries is written by series writers Carrie Smith and Becca Smith, with art by Elena Casagrande.

The story in the comic fits in between Seasons 2 and 3 of the show, and follows Melinda as she spends her days and nights helping earthbound spirits cross over into the Light.  In the comic series, however, Melinda gets more than she bargained for when she comes face-to-face with Osiris, Egyptian God of the Dead, who wants the souls for himself.

The comic follows the same format as the show, with a ghost that needs to cross over in each issue.  Unlike the show, however, another ghost – Osiris – appears in each issue, tying the miniseries together and keeping the tension on the rise from one issue to the next.

The digital version of the comic was adapted to the iPhone and iPod touch by iVerse Media. A new issue of the series will be released every few weeks until all five issues of the series have been adapted digitally.

“Many fans of the Ghost Whisperer TV show may not even realize that the comic book exists so this presents an excellent opportunity to reach out to both existing and new readers. The digital format is a no-brainer for this type of content,” IDW’s CEO Ted Adams said in a release.

"We’re very excited to be making Ghost Whisperer available to iPhone and iPod Touch owners," said Michael Murphey, owner of iVerse Media. "IDW has created a fantastic comic book that is true to the television series, and a great gateway into digital comic books for new readers of the format."

Ghost Whisperer: The Haunted #1 is available in the iTunes App Store now for $0.99:

Marvel Announces Second Digital Wave

  • News
  • December 2, 2008

Marvel Comics has announced a second wave of original digital comic titles exclusively for Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited subscribers. The Marvel Digital Holiday Special — debuting on Wednesday, December 17—highlights this second wave of online-first titles at Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited [www.marvel.com/digitalcomics].

Here’s what’s coming:

Astonishing Tales: Wolverine/Punisher

C.B. Cebulski (X-Infernus) and newcomer Kenneth Rocafort (Madame Mirage) get gritty with a no-holds-barred Wolverine/Punisher tale you have to see to believe! Wolverine and Punisher go head-to-head on the streets of Madripoor, but can they stop fighting each other long enough to take down a certain green-haired femme fatale for good?!

Written by: C.B. Cebulski
Art by: Kenneth Rocafort
Debuts: Wednesday, December 10

Holiday Special Issue

The X-Men celebrate their first holiday in their new home of San Francisco — and their first without Kitty Pryde among them in “X-Men: Blue Christmas” by Jim McCann and Todd Nauck. Meanwhile, in the days before Secret Invasion, one family finds even the most humble of holiday celebrations can be infiltrated by the Skrulls in a tale of holiday horror by Ryan Penagos and Juan Doe. Jack Russell, Werewolf by Night, stars in “Werewolf by Eve!” by Marvel.com’s own Ben Morse with art by Stephanie Buscema. Writer Brian Reed and artist Val Semeiks will provide the final tale:”Santa Claus vs. The Illuminati?!”

Debuts: Wednesday, December 17

Astonishing Tales: Iron Man 2020

In a not so distant tomorrow, Arno Stark, the Iron Man of the year 2020, prepares to launch the new heliliner, the Spirit of Free Enterprise…But Commodore Q wants to stop it. Who is he…And what are the Endless Stolen Skies?

Written by: Daniel Merlin Goodbrey
Art by: Lou Kang
Debuts: Wednesday, December 24

Astonishing Tales: Mojoworld

Jonathan Hickman (Secret Warriors) and newcomer Nick Pitarra roll the cameras as Cannonball and Sunspot (of the New Mutants) get sucked into the wildest adventure of their short lives when they spend their summer vacation in…MOJOWORLD!

Written by: Jonathan Hickman
Art by: Nick Pitarra and Jonathon Hickman
Debuts: Wednesday, December 31

Wolverine: Agent of Atlas

The jungles of Cuba, 1958: revolutionary forces work their way to overthrowing the government, while even stranger forces are at large. The FBI has sent Jimmy Woo’s secret team of paranormals, the Agents of Atlas, to investigate. The crack team gets more than they bargained for when they cross paths with the mysterious operative known only as "Logan!" This three part series debuts with a FREE first issue—available to subscribers and non-subscribers to Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited!

Written by: Jeff Parker
Art by: Benton Jew
Debuts: Wednesday, December 31 (Issue #1: FREE for all!)

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

comicmix-pro-300x69-2

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks