Category: News

‘Knight Rider’ Finds its Roots

  • News
  • November 11, 2008

Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Yancey Arias and Bruce Davison are being left at the curb as NBC orders a major retooling of its Knight Rider revival. The network has shown faith in the show, giving it a full season’s order, only to watch the ratings go into a death spiral.

"It’s a reboot," executive producer/showrunner Gary Scott Thompson told The Hollywood Reporter. "We’re moving away from the terrorist-of-the-week formula and closer to the original, making it a show about a man and his car going out and helping more regular people, everymen."

The series regulars were contracted for only the first 13 episodes and are not being renewed. Currently, the 15th episode is being filmed and the focus will be tightened on Mike (Justin Bruening), Sarah (Deanna Russo), Billy (Paul Campbell), Zoe (Smith Cho) and KITT.

The series kicks off the network’s Wednesday night crime block of shows, followed by Life and Law & Order. Viewers will have a chance to see the restyled series during a two-part episode in January.  They may even use its football prowess to run episode 10 on the weekend and wrap it up, bringing the audience they hope, for the conclusion the following Wednesday.
 

‘Wonder Woman’ Movie Rumors

  • News
  • November 11, 2008

wonder-woman-perez-1-6938899Some Wonder Woman news popped up over the weekend.  First, there was Beyonce Knowles telling Geoff Boucher at the Los Angeles Times that she’d love to portray the Amazon Princess.

"I want to do a superhero movie and what would be better than Wonder Woman? It would be great. And it would be a very bold choice. A black Wonder Woman would be a powerful thing. It’s time for that, right?" she said.

She has appeared in Austin Powers in Goldmember, Dreamgirls, and Cadillac Records in addition to her pop music career.  Knowles indicated she has personally expressed her interest to both the studio and representatives at DC Comics.

The shapely and fit performer was ready for the revealing and tight tradition outfit as first designed by artist Harry G. Peters.  "I would definitely have to keep it right for that costume. The way that Lynda Carter wore it, she was sooo fine. She was amazing. I saw her costume at the Met. Her waist was unbelievable. It was pretty crazy, actually, her proportions. But I love Wonder Woman and it’d be a dream come true to be that character. It sure would be handy to have that lasso. To make everybody tell the truth? I need that. It would come in very handy."

The 27 year old also noted, "When you think about the psychology of the heroes in the films these days, they are still a lot of work, of course, and emotional. But there’s also an action element that I would enjoy."

IESB is reporting rumors that Warner Bros. may be circling back to McG to direct the long-stalled movie.  The man is currently in post-production on Terminator Salvation and was scheduled to direct the Superman reboot before walking off the project prior to Bryan Singer’s involvement. He was also interested in The Losers which went to Tim Story before the studio reassigned it to Sylvain White.

“Let me be very clear about this, I don’t know if he has been signed on or if his is just one of the names being circulated by the studio or if in fact it’s McG himself lobbying for the gig. Could be any of the three,” the site wrote.

“I double checked with a few other industry insiders and after a few phone calls they confirmed of hearing his name circling Wonder Woman as well.”
 

James Cameron sets the Record on ‘Terminator Salavation’

  • News
  • November 11, 2008

James Cameron’s name has been bandied around, with various reports indicating he supported McG’s Terminator Salvation film or hated it.  To clear the air, he issued the following statement to Harry Knowles, the man behind Ain’t it Cool News:

There’s been some discussion at AICN and elsewhere of me rescinding my so-called blessing of T4 and that’s not the case. The truth is there never was a blessing to rescind, and there’s been some kind of misunderstanding between me and McG, perfectly innocent I believe. He asked me in a phone call when I was shooting in New Zealand earlier this year if I would be a supporter and creative participant in the new film. I said sure, send me the script and I’ll give you my thoughts. And I warned him that free advice is usually worth what you pay for it. For whatever reason I never got the script and to date I haven’t seen a foot of film other than what everybody’s seen in the trailer, which is not enough to form an opinion. So I have zero basis for supporting or dissing the film. As I said in an interview, for all I know it could be a masterpiece or it could be a big steaming pile. I think all people heard was the steaming pile part and concluded I was against the film, which I’m not. In fact, it might be very good, an opinion based solely on what Sam Worthington has shared with me. He’s nobody’s fool when it comes to material, and has absolutely the lowest bullshit quotient of anyone I know, and he has repeatedly told me that he reckons the film is going to be good. I know him to be very critical (in a healthy way) of his own work, and an actor who always aspires to excellence, so I know he wouldn’t praise the film if he didn’t feel it.

Obviously I can’t give my blessing (whatever that means anyway) to the film completely blind. But I’m predisposed to be supportive based on Sam’s involvement and his judgment, because I believe in him. So there you have it. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that it’s not a steaming pile.

Jim out

So there. You of course can decide for yourself when the film opens in May 2009.
 

‘Watchmen’ Tops 3Q Sales Charts

  • News
  • November 11, 2008

watchmen-trade-paperback-6870880

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reports that graphic novels tied to feature film release saw a massive increase in third quarter sales.

“Sales of the Watchmen graphic novel exploded after the trailer hit theaters and it will clearly be the number one graphic novel of 2008, but a number of Batman-related graphic novels including The Killing Joke and The Dark Knight Returns also showed huge increases in sales, while Mark Millar’s Wanted graphic novel published by Top Cow clearly benefited from having a hit movie adaptation,” the site noted.

As the summer features arrive on DVD for the holidays, additional trade sales are anticipated.  Marvel cannily released additional Iron Man product when the related DVD came out September 29.

Manga did not suffer according to the site’s analysis, saying “Viz Media’s shojo series Vampire Knight, the top Manga series to debut in 2007 gained strength in 2008 and Viz Media also has one of the best new series of 2008, Rosario & Vampire, but with the maturing of the Manga market, the number of new releases slated for 2009 is declining, though the quality of those new series appears to be going up.”

Top Superhero Properties–Q3 08

1 Watchmen, DC
2 Batman, DC
3 Spider-Man, Marvel
4 Wanted, Top Cow
5 League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, DC/Wildstorm
6 Iron Man, Marvel
7 Marvel Zombies, Marvel
8 Hulk, Marvel9 Superman, DC
10 Green Lantern DC

Top Genre Properties–Q3 08

1 Star Wars, Dark Horse

2 Y: The Last Man, DC/Vertigo
3 Indiana Jones, Dark Horse
4 Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dark Horse
5 Dark Tower, Marvel
6 Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Marvel
7 The Walking Dead, Image
8 Fables, DC/Vertigo
9 Sandman, DC/Vertigo
10 Angel, IDW

‘Lost’ Arrives January 21

  • News
  • November 10, 2008

ABC has decided that Lost will come back to Wednesday nights at 9 p.m., beginning January 21.  The series will displace Private Practice, which will gain a new timeslot now that the network has given it a full season pickup. In fact, the entire night will see its shows find new homes to boost ratings.

Lost will begin its fifth season with a recap hour followed by a two-hour season premiere, according to The Hollywood Reporter. There will be a total of 17 episodes for the season, making up from the Writers Strike-shortened fourth season, which will be released on DVD in December.

In other television news, NBC has given a full season’s order to its Life series. While the ratings are iffy at best, the network has confidence in the show finding its audience and will be sticking with it. They are bolstered by the ratings once DVR numbers are considered.

"This unique crime drama continues to offer consistent and compelling stories each week," Teri Weinberg, executive VP, NBC Entertainment told the trade. "We love Life and are thrilled that we get to see more of these characters and amazing new cases."

The series has been hampered by being bounced around the schedule and can currently be found Wednesdays at 9, meaning it has to withstand the arrival of Lost in the new year.

DC Comics’ Texas Tidbits

  • News
  • November 10, 2008

legion-of-3-worlds1-1503689WizardWorld Texas wrapped up yesterday and here are highlights from the various DC Comics panels:

Legion of 3 Worlds: Senior Story Editor Ian Sattler says the miniseries is essential in setting up events to play out across the DCU in the next three years.

Final Crisis: Matt Sturges and Freddie Williams will produce Final Crisis: Run, the last miniseries tie-in to their mega-event.  Said to feature a super-villain as the focal point, Sattler promised at least three cool moments per issue.

At several panels, the comprehensibility of Final Crisis itself was debated between panelists and the audience.  Clearly, Grant Morrison’s storytelling was daunting compared with most comics but the editorial team assured the fans that it will pay off with the final issue.

DC’s VP-Sales Bob Wayne aid the plans to collect the mini and its related tie-ins has yet to be settled.

Green Arrow will be the pivotal hero for 2009, according to Sattler.  Editor Liz Gehrlein countered she thought it would be Brainiac. Expect to see a prominent return of Lobo and maybe even the much-teased Aquaman reboot.

J. Michael Straczynski will have a second DC title, as yet unannounced, in addition to The Brave and the Bold.

Sales: When Newsarama asked about the economic downturn affecting comic book sales, Sattler replied “…It motivates us to turn out the best stories we possibly can.” A snarky audience member asked, “Does that mean you haven’t previously been trying?” Sattler replied, “It motivates us to try even more…”

‘Gill’ Latest Webcomic, Debuting Today

  • News
  • November 10, 2008

Norm Feuti, creator of Retail, has begun a second strip which will be a webcomic beginning today.  Gill launched this morning and is described as “a humorous look at the life of an 8-year-old boy who lives under less than ideal circumstances. Gill is overweight. His parents are divorced. His mother struggles to maintain their meager existence. His estranged father floats in and out of his life to offer crude and confusing advice. Gill is an exploration of childhood and the imperfect American family in all its dysfunctional glory.”

The strip will appear Monday through Thursday in black and white, with the Friday strip larger and in color, like the traditional Sunday strip.

He told Daily Cartoonist, “About a year ago, I decided to make an attempt at getting a second strip syndicated. Gill is an idea I’ve had for some time, and in July of 2008 I pitched it to all the major syndicate. Unfortunately it was passed on by all of them.

“My initial plan was to abandon the idea if it was rejected and move on to another, but after posting the sample strips on my website, I started having second thoughts. I got overwhelmingly positive comments about the material on my blog as well as The Daily Cartoonist, and received about a dozen private emails from various professional cartoonists (both syndicated and web) complementing the strip. Many urged me to give it a go as a webcomic … and after a lot of thought I decided to do just that.”

Feuti launched Retail two years ago and continues to produce the strip about life at a box box retailer.
 

Zack Snyder on the Altered Ending of ‘Watchmen’

  • News
  • November 10, 2008

new-watchmen-poster-1196845Zack Snyder spoke with Dark Horizons about the recent sneak of The Watchmen and the audience’s reaction, especially to the altered ending.

"We had the best test scores in the history of Warner Bros. with 300 and I kept telling them look the movie is not like 300, don’t think that it is – it’s not going to be the same experience,” Snyder said. “Some people are going to go ‘what the f**k is this’ and I go that’s ok. That’s the thing that you fight… The one thing that was cool was that anyone who had read the graphic novel who was at the screening rated the film ‘excellent’, for me I’m like ‘I’m done’."

So about the squid and the ending?

"The fans, god love ’em, they’re all up in arms about the squid,” he said. “What they should be up in arms about are things like shooting the pregnant woman, ‘God is real and he’s American’, whether that‘s in the movie. That’s my point of view, maybe I’m crazy.

"The squid was not in the movie when I got the script, the squid was never in any draft that I saw. My point is only that there was this elegant solution to the squid problem that I kind of embraced. I’m a fan of the thing as much as anyone, I was saying what are we going to do about this before I even read the script."

He confirmed a second trailer will be released this coming Friday when Quantum of Solace hits theaters in America. "I just saw the final version of it this morning… it’s a little bit more story, a teeny bit more like a full trailer. This is much more like ‘someone’s picking off costume heroes’. You’ll get a sense of the characters plight you know, ‘we were supposed to make the world a better place… what happened to the American Dream’."

A third trailer will be released in early 2009, prior to the March 6 release date.

"The film’s pretty much done in my book. There’s still some visual effects shots which I’m reviewing… there’s probably close to 2000 effects shots in the film" he added.

Snyder’s next film will be his first animated project, Guardians of Ga’Hoole, coming in 2010.
 

Joe Johnston to Direct ‘Captain America’

  • News
  • November 10, 2008

Joe Johnston will be directing  First Avenger: Captain America for Marvel Studios. The director has signed a deal according to The Hollywood Reporter for the film which will open May 6, 2011 setting up the final pieces prior to that July’s Avengers film.

There is no casting as yet nor is there a screenwriter.

Johnston made his name as a special effects designer for George Lucas on the original Star Wars films prior to shifting to directing and his credits include genre fare such as the underrated The Rocketeer and next year’s Wolfman film with Benicio del Toro. Johnston met with Marvel Studio execs two years ago and hit it off so this is the culmination of that relationship.

Kevin Feige told the trade, "This is a guy who designed the vehicles for Star Wars, who storyboarded the convoy action sequence for Raiders of the Lost Ark. From Rocketeer to October Sky to The Wolfman, you can look at pieces of his movies and see how they lead to this one."

Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created the star-spangled avenger for Timely Comics in 1941 and produced ten issues prior to leaving for DC Comics.  The character, though, endured and became one of the three major stars of the comics line through the 1940s.  He was briefly revived in the 1950s but lay dormant until Stan Lee created the Marvel Universe.  For the fourth issue of the Avengers, he and Kirby told of how Captain America had been preserved in a state of suspended animation, trapped in a block of ice until the Sub-Mariner unwittingly tossed the chunk into the sea where the warmer waters melted the block. The Avengers found him and he returned to active duty. He has been a staple of Marvel Comics ever since.

Feige had previously indicated the film will be set during World War II and film students already saw a glimpse of the frozen form in an arctic sequence shot as an alternative opening for this summer’s Incredible Hulk.  We also saw Captain America’s fabled shield in Tony Stark’s lab in Iron Man and again, director Jon Favreau indicated Howard Stark had something to do with the shield as will be revealed in forthcoming films.

Captain America had been adapted twice before.  Once in two terrible telefilms for CBS and the aborted Captain America feature film from 1990 that never made it to theaters.  Matt Salinger portrayed the hero and was pitted against his immortal enemy the Red Skull, who was an Italian terrorist, not a a Nazi.
 

Dave McKean goes Hardcore for the ‘First Time’

  • News
  • November 10, 2008

NBM reminds readers what the First Time was like, in an erotic hardcover anthology that will feature the works of Dave McKean.  The collection of ten tales comes from writer Sybilline, a French woman with decidedly spicy ideas.  The art is handled by a variety of talents including McKean, Cyril Pedrosa (Three Shadows), and Olivier Vatine (Aquablue). 

The publisher says: “10 hot stories about first times. From having sex to having a very different sexual experience such as going beyond the couple, or the woman strapping it on for her man, or… all from the point of view of women.”

The 112-page book will be released in January, retailing for $19.95 and is most decidedly hardcore so be warned.

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