Author: Robert Greenberger

Better start your 2009 Christmas letter to Santa now because you’re going to want The Beatles video game.

MTV has managed something unique: getting the rights to turn the fab four into a video game in an age when you cannot download their music catalogue.

Apple Corps, EMI Music, Harrisongs and Sony/ATV Music Publishing have, according to Variety, signed a deal allowing MTV to work with Harmonix on the game.  The announcement occurred Thursday in London. Harmonix, known for Rock Band, has been granted permission to us 45 songs from the Beatles’ playlist from EMI.

Everyone made certain to stress that this game will be apart from Rock Band and no Beatles music will be heard there or even Activision’s Guitar Hero.

"The game is in development," said Apple Corps CEO Jeff Jones. "We don’t want to talk about how it will turn out a year from now. We’re in the process of creating the game."

Yes, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono Lennon have all been made aware of this development and have been apprised as to the design, layout and rollout of the game. This was the culmination of a 17 month process and the contracts were finally signed four weeks back.

Giles Martin, son of legendary Beatles’ producer George, will be overseeing the music for the game and stressed, "We are trying to present the songs as they were played, adhering to the (original) mix."

Does the game announcement mean the influential music from 1962-1969 will finally be made available in mp3 format?

It’s "the biggest puzzle and so illogical that the Beatles music is not available for use on MP3 players," Martin Bandier, chairman-CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, told Variety. "Maybe the fact that this deal is done will offer an impetus to Apple and EMI" to finalize a deal, he added.

The article noted that with this deal in place, Led Zeppelin remains the final major musical act to eschew lending their songs for commercial exploitation.

The announcement of David Tennant’s withdrawal from Doctor Who overshadowed his win for Outstanding Drama Performance at the National Television Awards this past week.  He beat out costar Catherine Tate although the series won the Most Popular Drama award.

Tate, who collected the Drama series award alongside Executive Producer Russell T. Davies, said "I know it’s won the award for the last three years, but I was sweating that we wouldn’t the year I joined!"

Meantime, the UK press has been in overdrive handicapping who might be the next Doctor, a game ComicMix indulged in not that long back. Tennant himself joined in the fun saying, "I’ve always been a big supporter of Wee Jimmy Krankie and I, you know, if it wasn’t me it was gonna be him, her, him. So the campaign starts here for me, to get wee Jimmy Krankie in the TARDIS and big Ian Krankie as the companion. I think that works." (more…)

It’s been a good week for J. Michael Straczynski.  First, his Changleing film opened to good notices and box office.  Then he was announced as the writer for the forthcoming remake of Forbidden Planet.  Now, the New York Comic-Con has announced him as its first Guest of Honor. The growing convention will be held at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan the first weekend of February.  Featured guests announced to date include Mark Brooks, Bob Budiansky, Cliff Chiang, Tommy Lee Edwards, Larry Hama, Kris Justice, ComicMix’s Frank McLaughlin, Robert Place Napton, Ivan Reis, Alex Robinson, Christian Slade, Herb Trimpe, Ron Wilson, and Leinil Yu.
 

While we disapprove of AMC’s decision to air their movies with ad breaks, we do admire their original series, Mad Men, and their various online features.  Today, in honor of the holiday, they have launched the Master Monster Hunter Tournament. Readers are being asked to nominate their favorite hunters and the top 16 will be facing off in a voting death match between November 10 and December 12.  Finalists are being named on November 6 so you have a week to give this some deep thought as you munch your Halloween treats.

Nominations to date:

• Van Helsing (Peter Cushing)
• Riddick
• Seth Gecko, From Dusk Till Dawn
• Blade (Wesley Snipes), Blade, Blade II, and Blade: Trinity
• Jay & Slient Bob (Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith), Dogma
• Ashley (Bruce Campbell), Evil Dead
• Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), Alien, Aliens and Alien 3
• Jack Crow (James Woods), Vampire$
• Hellboy (Ron Perlman)
• Alice, Resident Evil
• Dr. Alan Grant from Jurassic Parks 1 and 3
• Charlie Brewster (William Ragsdale) and Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowell), Fright Night
• Quinn (Christian Bale) and Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey), Reign of Fire
• Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar)
• The Winchester brothers, Supernatural
• Casper Van Dien, Starship Troopers
• The Ghostbusters
• Jamie Lloyd, Halloween sequels
• Harry Potter
• Shaun and Ed, Shaun of the Dead
• Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland), Wizard of Oz
• Beowulf
• Laura Croft (Angelina Jolie)
• Godzilla
• The Incredible Hulk (Edward Norton)
• Chris McCormick (David Arquette), Eight Legged Freaks
• Jack Burton (Kurt Russell), Big Trouble In Little China
• Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), The X-Files
• Lloyd Gallagher (Kyle McLauchlan), The Hidden
• Doctor Who
• John Constantine (Keanu Reaves)
• River Tam (Summer Glau), Serenity
• Ronon Dex, Stargate Atlantis
• Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), Torchwood
• Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), Pirates of the Caribbean