Author: Robert Greenberger

Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay will adapt The Boys for the big screen according to The Hollywood Reporter.  The Columbia Pictures’ project is based on the Garth Ennis/Darick Robertson series which first launched at WildStorm and quickly moved to Dynamite Entertainment.

According to THR, “The book follows the adventures of a CIA squad, known informally as ‘the boys,’ whose job is to keep watch on the proliferation of superheroes and, if necessary, intimidate or eliminate them.”

The movie is one of many comic book properties currently being developed by producer Neal H. Moritz who also has The Green Hornet, Flash Gordon, and Luke Cage on his To Do list. Also attached as producers are Kickstart’s Jason Netter and attorney Ken F. Levin.

The screenwriting team has had success in Hollywood with a mix of projects ranging from the ambitious Crazy/Beautiful to the action adventure misfires Aeon Flux and The Tuxedo.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment announced today that the DVD for The Incredible Hulk will be released on October 21 in a variety of formats.: a three-disc Special Edition DVD available for a limited time only; a two-disc Blu-ray release, offered in collectible 3D lenticular packaging for a limited time only; and a single-disc DVD edition.

The film starring Edward Norton and Liv Tyler has taken in $234.6 million worldwide, eclipsing the Ang Lee incarnation.

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For those turned off by both Obama and McCain and won’t even consider Nader, then you might want to consider exercising your right by voting for Charlie Brown. To keep people engaged in the electoral process Rock the Vote has worked with United Media to craft a Peanuts-centric website where people can legitimately register for the general election while also casting a vote for Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy or Sally.

No surprise that as of this morning, Snoopy has a strong lead across the land. Additionally, Warner Home Video has planned a rerelease of You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown for October 7.  The DVD has been remastered in a new deluxe edition.
 

Garth Ennis’ The Boys is moving forward a film project but it appears adapting his Preacher series is too controversial for the screen, be it big or small.

Comics Continuum broke the story from screenwriter Mark Steven Johnson that the current management at HBO has shied away from the television incarnation.  He was told “the new head of HBO felt it was just too dark and too violent and too controversial.”

The Vertigo series, co-created with artist Steve Dillon, ran from 1995 through 2000 and was an exploration into the relationship between man and God, among several other topics.  It was an award-winning project now collected into a series of trade collections that continue to sell well.

A feature film version, possibly starring James Marsden (Superman Returns, Enchanted), has been in the works as an independent feature from View Askew Productions. Rachel Talalay (Tank Girl) was attached to direct with Samuel L. Jackson interested in portraying the Saint of Killers.

HBO stepped in and announced it would develop the series for their pay cable channel in November 2006 with Daredevil writer/director Johnson attached with director Howard Deutch. Johnson initially indicated he saw each issue of the comic as an episode of the hour-long series. He reversed that position and was working with Ennis on crafting new stories when the network pulled the plug.

Lionsgate releases the first season of the CW’s Reaper on November 4.  The amusing show with Bret Harrison and Ray Wise comes as a box set featuring all 18 episodes plus the usual assort of bonus materials including deleted scenes and commentary with cast and crew.  The five-disc set will retail for $39.98.

Reaper features a slacker who discovers his soul was sold to the devil and now has to become Hell’s bounty hunter (while similar to the film Ghost Rider, they’re unrelated). The CW intends to bring the second season to the screen for mid-season.

With Freddie Highmore on board to voice Astro Boy in the Warner Bros. CGI reincarnation of the classic anime series, one has to wonder what role Kristen Bell will play.  She has recently been linked to the project along with Nicolas Cage, Bill Nighy, Donald Sutherland, Eugene Levy and Nathan Lane. The movie is due out in spring 2009.

The 1963 animated series from the legendary Osamu Tezuka is being recreated by director David Bowers and screenwriter Timothy Harris.

Meantime, Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel, comes up from under the sea to lend her voice as Barbie to Michael Keaton’s Ken in Toy Story 3. The film, coming June 18, 2010, of course reunites voice actors Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as the toy’s owner, Andy, moves on to college.