Category: News

Candace Bushnell, the writer whose Sex And The City columns were the inspiration for the TV series and movie, has bounced back from last year’s cancellation of Lipstick Jungle on NBC and chosen the web for her new venture– a new series called The Broadroom, starring Jennie Garth and Jennifer Esposito. (Warning: if you click there, your cursor turns into lipstick. You wish I was kidding.)

Now, I watched the series when it was on HBO– okay, my wife watched it and I was in the room a lot– so I decided to give this one a try, see where the revenue stream is, and so on. And just shy of 2:40 into the first episode, entitled “Husband Hijinks” I’m treated to this monologue:

Ahh… men. I know nothing about them. I haven’t had a date in, like, ten months. All my girlfriends are, like, where are the guys like us? Responsible, ambitious, normal… they’re in their parents’ basements trying to start up their comic book company, or they’ve suddenly decided to become a screenwriter at the age of thirty-nine. It’s awesome.

My first thoughts on hearing this:

1. Yes, I started a comic book company in my basement. Mine. My house. I own it.
2. I don’t have the time to do screenwriting, although everyone knows that comics are the way to break into movies nowadays anyway.
3. Someone’s feeling a bit prickly that her film wasn’t in the top ten grossing films of 2008, and was beaten out by Iron Man and The Dark Knight.

Feel free to take a look for yourself:

And people wonder why there’s some worry about Diane Nelson.

To the surprise of few, IMAX Corp. and Columbia Pictures announced that Spider-Man 4 will be released to IMAX theatres simultaneously with the film’s worldwide release on May 5, 2011. Spidey 4 reunites director Sam Raimi with stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, and will be the first Spidey film under the new regime.

Hence the image.

Quite seriously, if you thought the Spidey-Cam was tough to move around before, just imagine what it’s going to be like to move a Spidey-IMAX-Cam…

Now the Photoshop mockups are coming from the people who are taking serious time to do them. Go look. And there’s still time to enter yourself.

Rob Harrigan posts that there will be a major John Buscema retrospective opening on Thursday in Palma de Mallorca, Spain and running until November 17. Private collections spanning his entire career will be on display publicly for what may be the first time. 

One wonders if they’re going to show the front of the pages of art or the back.

On this day in 1766, Samuel Wilson was born. At the time of the War of 1812, he was a prosperous middle-aged meat-packer in Troy. He
obtained a contract to supply beef to the Army in its campaign further
north, which he shipped in barrels. The barrels, being government
property, were branded with the initials “U.S.”, but the soldiers would joke that the initials referred to “Uncle Sam”, who
supplied the product. Over time, it is believed, anything marked with
the same initials (as much Army property was) also became linked with
his name.

Later on, he’d become known for the most famous poster in the world, and became a comic book character, first for Quality Comics, then later for DC as the leader of the Freedom Fighters and as the star of a miniseries by Alex Ross.

Put the pieces together: Guillermo Del Toro was talking with Neil Gaiman about doing a Dr. Strange film as far back as February 2008. Now Del Toro is cutting a deal with Disney… and Disney now owns Marvel, which of course is the home of the good Doctor. Sounds like the stars are aligning… but we already had a recent animated Doctor Strange…

Press release via Nikki Finke: Disney Toons Up With Guillermo Del Toro Under “Disney Double Dare You” Label

Anaheim, California — September 11, 2009 — The Walt Disney
Studios, in collaboration with acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro
(“Pan’s Labyrinth,” “The Hobbit”), is launching a new production label
called Disney Double Dare You, to create new animated films full of
chills and thrills for audiences of all ages, it was announced today at
the D23 Expo by Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. All
films will be produced under the guidance of del Toro, who originated
the concept and the design of DDY and who will also direct certain
projects. The first project in development for the new label is called
“Trollhunters,” an original del Toro story which he will produce.

Commenting on the announcement, Cook said, “Guillermo is a brilliant
and visionary filmmaker, and we’re excited to be launching this new
label with him. His knowledge and appreciation for Disney films, along
with his penchant for creating worlds of fantasy, presented a great
opportunity for us to explore a whole new genre of filmmaking for
moviegoers of all ages. We have admired Guillermo’s imaginative
approach to filmmaking for some time, and now we’re proud to be working
with him to create films full of imaginative delights and lots of
thrills at the same time.”

Del Toro added, “As a director, I love to take audiences into
fantastic new worlds and provide them with some anxious moments in the
process. It is part of the Disney canon to create thrilling,
unforgettable moments and villains in all their classic films. It is my
privilege for DDY to continue in this tradition. To partner up with The
Walt Disney Studios, with the support of Dick Cook and John Lasseter,
is to belong to a storytelling partnership that I admire deeply. It is
a true honor. I look forward to coming up with fresh and original
stories that will take Disney films in a whole new direction. The
emphasis is on fun, and we have some great ideas already on the
storyboards.”

Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth received six Academy Award® nominations
in 2007, including one for his original screenplay, and went on to win
three awards. That film also received a BAFTA Award for Best Film not
in the English language. His other directing credits include “Hellboy,”
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” “The Devil’s Backbone,” “Cronos,” and
“Mimic,” among others. Del Toro is currently directing back-to-back
feature film adaptations of the Tolkien classic, “The Hobbit,” for
release in 2011 and 2012.

(Hat tip to Arne Starr for the art, and Patrick Dempsey for the modeling.)