How Don Heck created Iron Man
Archival footage. Honest. (Oh, yeah, like you know what Don looked like.)
The Mix : What are people talking about today?
First picture of ‘Thor’ hits the web
As part of the ramp-up for Iron Man 2 (subtle hint) the first photo of Chris Hemsworth as Thor has been released into the wild.
So: do you think he can pull it off? Is he worthy to hold the hammer?
Hat tip: Comics Alliance.
The Point Radio: Patrick Warburton – The Voice & The Face
You probably know his voice from FAMILY GUY and THE VENTURE BROTHERS and you might know his face from RULES OF ENGAGEMENT and even SEINFELD. PATRICK WARBURTON was even THE TICK, and he’s anxious to get back to that role as he tells us here. Plus say goodbye to Michael Scott and Ron Burgundy and JONAH HEX now has super powers., Thank God it’s FREE COMIC DAY tomorrow!
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Jonah Hex Trailer Debuts on the Web
Debuting on the interwebs just a few days ago (in case ya’ didn’t catch it, partner), the trailer for DC’s western wild-man, Jonah Hex, made it’s dusty digital debut. And dag-nabbit, if it ain’t a big ole pile of predictable horse puckey! After you give that link a lil’ ole’ click and watch the trailer for yourself, maybe you bounce right back here for our analysis of why it done got our britches in a bind!
First off, let’s just git this outta the way. Castin’ John Malkovich as yer’ villain these days is as inspired a choice as castin’ Matthew McConaughey in a romantic comedy. I mean, does Malkovich even get a script for pictures like this anymore, or does the director yell action, and just let him do that whole slow-quiet-evil-talking thing he does in every other movie he’s in?
Past that, how about we talk about Mr. Hex himself. Now I admit, I ain’t no historian of western tales from the funny pages, but a quick call to my friend (comic book historian) Alan Kistler proved my theory right. In his illustrious history as a comic book anti-hero, Mr. Hex ain’t never had no “bring-people-back-from-the-dead-for-a-short-period-of-time” power. And you think the folks on this movie could afford a little better makeup job for the ole’ scarface? I mean, the Dark Knight sure did a convincing job with Mr. Harvey Two-Face’s scars… and here? Jonah done look like they painted up a red vine flesh colored and glued it to Josh Brolin’s face… after letting him suffer from some major acne issues.
I seem to recall another movie that loved to play fast and loose with old west technology too. Anyone else recall that gem of a picture, Wild Wild West? Well it seems the fine folks behind Jonah Hex raided the prop closet from that nightmare, dusted it off, and are attempting to pass it off again. A dynamite launching crossbow pistol? Really? I might have been fine with the pair of gatling guns on Jonah’s horse. But where does he get all these wonderful toys? it seems Jonah’s befriended a well-to-do black man with a closet full of steam punk goodies! Perhaps Morgan Freeman wasn’t available?
Next up on the ole’ gripe list. Megan Fox. Now, I know, if a film has to suck (Transformers, I’m looking at you) the least the producers can do is toss in a little eye candy to ease the pain. And given Josh Brolin’s face in this picture, well, they coulda’ used some special effects to clone Megan a sister. But only if she was mute, cause dog-gonnit… everytime she opens her mouth to deliver a line, it saps the lightning outta my loins faster than a picture of Bea Arthur. I’m not saying Megan’s a bad actress… I’m saying she’s a terrible actress. And based solely on the trailer, I can tell she already talks to much. Where’s Megatron when you need him!?
And finally, let’s just touch quickly on the movie poster itself. Now, given my personal preference for movable type, I have to say, their choice for fonts are as ugly as my sorry ass after a night of drinking. If the bevel gets any bigger on the word HEX you might as well sell 3D glasses to the movie goers. And what in God’s good name is John Malovich holding in his hand? A dragonball? I’m all for purty special effects people, but seriously, why would Jonah be firing his pistol crossbow and hip mounted mini-gun? Malkovich is behind him! Seriously folks… this trailer has done got me in a tizzy, and I apologize for ranting and a’ railing all over this blog today. I think I’ma’ gonna’ take in the ole’ Iron Man 2 trailer now, just to settle my frazzled nerves.
New ‘Superman’ and ‘Dark Shadows’ films confirmed in IMAX press release
Warner Bros. is now so committed to getting a Superman film out the door by 2013 that it’s now showing up in press releases from partners.
IMAX, as part of their earnings statement, announced that they’ve signed a deal with Warner Bros. to release 20 films in IMAX format up to 2013. And on the list is a new Superman film.
This would seem to back up that Warner Bros. really is taking the Siegel Estate threat seriously, which states that if a movie wasn’t going to be in release by 2013 they would be in breach and owe the estate a large sum of cash.
Other Warner Bros. movies that will be released in IMAX
are: Legends of the Guardian: The Owls of Ga’Hoole 3D (September 24,
2010); Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (3D) (November 19,
2010); Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (3D) (July 15,
2011); Happy Feet 2 (3D) (November 18, 2011); and The Hobbit (December
2013). Warner Bros. and IMAX also plan to release an additional 15 films
over the course of 2011, 2012 and 2013, including Gravity, Dark
Shadows, Fury Road, and the third Batman movie.
Of course, as we all know, things can happen, production can get weird, and I’m sure that there are ways out of all of those clauses– but it’s still an encouraging sign.
Tonight at MoCCA: Spooky stop-motion animation
Presented by MoCCA and Small and Creepy Films
7 PM | Admission: $5 | Free
for MoCCA Members
Hosted by Aurelio Voltaire.Stop-motion
animation has been around since the very beginning of film and is still
around today. The art of manipulating rubber puppets and bringing them
to life by posing them one frame at a time on film has seen something of
a renaissance in recent history with the release of such films as
Coraline, The Fantastic Mr. Fox and A Town Called Panic. Unlike it’s
shiny and new cousin, computer animation, stop-motion has always had a
home-made and somewhat surreal quality to it. Perhaps it is for that
reason that it is often the technique of choice for filmmakers like Tim
Burton and Henry Selick, looking to create a strange and spooky world
(Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, James and the Giant Peach).
Aurelio
Voltaire, a filmmaker firmly entrenched in the world of dark, puppet
animation takes us on a little tour of the genre on April 29th during
“Puppet Masters of the Macabre: A Night of Spooky Stop-Motion
Animation”. Voltaire will screen excerpts from his reel (including
station IDs created in the early days of MTV and The SyFy channel as
well as a few of his award-winning shorts) as well as the work of other
colleagues and luminaries of macabre animation. The screening will be
immediately followed by a panel discussion lead by Voltaire. On the
panel will be Micah Van Hove of Small and Creepy films and other
stop-motion animators and industry professionals.
For a glimpse at Voltaire’s work visit:
www.youtube.com/voltairenyc
www.smallandcreepy.com is the website
of Caroline Thompson.
(Screenwriter of Edward Scissorhands, Corpse
Bride, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Addams Family and others)
‘Batman XXX: A Porn Parody’ Set To Debut
Biff! Pow! Bam! Not in the face!
File this under the “Well, finally!” pile, folks. After parodying basically everything else in pop culture, the adult film industry has finally parodied the Adam West Batman franchise. Batman: XXX by folks at Vivid VIdeo will hit the shelves (behind beaded curtains) in May. You can’t make this stuff up kids. Thanks to folks at iesb, here’s a little promotion from the films producers:
“The cast was just incredible,” said director, Axel Braun. “Dale DaBone
literally became Adam West, turning in one of the most electrifying
comeback performances I’ve ever seen in my 20 years in the industry,
and James Deen was just outstanding as Robin. Tori Black, who plays Catwoman,
showed us exactly why she’s the reigning Performer of the Year. This
girl is so gorgeous and talented, and her sexual energy is just
unbelievable.”While there’s not a complete synopsis of the plot, we here at Comic Mix can imagine it now… Batman and Robin must fight the villainous Catwoman, Riddler, and Joker! There will be a villainous plot to steal some super fancy diamond! Luckily they have Batgirl along for the adventure, to help even the odds. Wait… That’s four guys to three women. This is starting to get a bit scary. Come to think of it, if this is going to be a real parody, will this mean we get Robin straddling Batman as they scale a building? And what about the Bat-Poles? Oh god. I think we might be getting sick. And if they painted right over Caesar Romero’s mustache… what in Gods name will they paint over for this film?
Will the dynamic duo and the bat-tastic beauty defeat the clown price of the kama-sutra? Will Robin solve the Riddler’s “Ribbed for her pleasure” Rubics cube of doom? Will Alfred and Aunt Harriet make an unexpected cameo?
“Atomic marital aids to power, turbines to speed…. Let’s go!”
UPDATE: The trailer has been posted! Click here and enjoy the Bat-tastrophe.
Review: ‘District 13: Ultimatum’
In 2004, action fans were introduced to a brand new style of stunt work, an acrobatic, athletic style called parkour. One of its creators, David Belle, showed off his stuff in [[[District 13]]], which benefited from being written and produced by Luc Besson and directed by Pierre Morel.
Set in the near future of 2010, the French film showed Paris in economic and societal decay with District 13 being overrun by gangs. Rather than deal with the problem the ineffective police wind up building a wall around the ghetto, isolating its two million residents.
The combination of action, adventure, and contemporary issues turned it into a success both in Europe and America. Morel went on to make a domestic thriller, Taken, and skipped returning to the inevitable sequel, [[[District 13: Ultimatum]]]. The film was released last year and is out this week on Blu-ray from Magnet Home Entertainment.
The story, also co-written and produced by Besson, picks up in 2016, with things no better, and possibly worse. Five ethnic gangs vie for control of the lawless land while the police watch from checkpoints. Walter Gassman (Daniel Duval), the leader of the police’s secret service division, has been orchestrating plans to decimate the district and help award the rebuilding contract to Harriburton (not so thinly disguised is it?), with kickbacks making him rich.
To make certain his plans work, Gassman frames Damien Tomaso (Cyril Raffaelli), the best cop in Paris, and has him imprisoned. Meantime, he has his goons kill several policemen, placing them within District 13 so the gangs fire on the vehicle, making it seem the gangs crossed the line. What Gassman didn’t realize was that others witnessed – and recorded – the event. When Tomaso’s former partner Leïto (Belle) is given the footage, he too becomes a target. At much the same time, Tomaso calls for help and the action ignites.
The film cleverly introduces Tomaso on a case, showing some of the underworld life but the movie’s story fails to properly develop the five separate gags and their leaders even though they are pivotal to the final act. Similarly, Gassman is a two-dimensional villain and the only developed character is the unnamed President (Philippe Torreton).
The action and parkour fighting is a marvel to watch but sadly, every bad guy and every cop seems to possess martial arts skills. Five gangs should have had a more diverse assortment of fighting styles, giving some visual variety to the climax. Overall, the themes and basic plot are derivative and contrived but the breathless pacing and buddy chemistry between Belle and Raffaelli helps a lot.
The film, as presented on Blu-ray, is dubbed and the vocal casting is weak throughout. Visually the transfer is adequate and the sound is nicely mixed.
Extras include a nearly thirty minute Making of District 13: Ultimatum which is segmented and fairly ordinary in presentation. Subtitled, it is really only for major fans of the creators. An additional thirty-four minutes of Production Diaries, reusing some of the same footage, provide additional information in the filmmaking process. As you might expect, there are Deleted and Extended Scenes, all of which were additional action moments so the story remains wafer-thin.
Finally, we get French rapper Alonzo performing a Music Video and a useless HDNet: A Look at District 13: Ultimatum, which tells us nothing.
Warner Premiere Formally Announces ‘Batman: Under the Red Hood’
We were teased with the next direct-to-DVD animated feature when Justice League came out a few months back. Personally, we never understood why Jason Todd was resurrected or why DC and Warner Home Video considered this story worthy of adaptation, but here is comes. What follows is the press release with the details:
BURBANK, CA (April 27, 2010) – Batman confronts new enemies, old foes and painful memories when a powerful vigilante with a penchant for violence comes to Gotham City in the intense graphic-novel-come-to-life Batman: Under the Red Hood, the next entry in the popular ongoing series of DC UNIVERSE Animated Original PG-13 Movies coming July 27, 2010 from Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The full-length film will be distributed by Warner Home Video as a Special Edition version on Blu-Ray™ and 2 disc DVD for $29.99 (SRP) and $24.98 (SRP), respectively, as well as single disc DVD for $19.98 (SRP). The film will also be available On Demand and for Download.
‘Peanuts’ sold to Joe Boxer owner
Good grief. You wouldn’t think the unit that owns the
licensing rights to Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the “Peanuts”
gang would go for less than tonight’s Mega Millions jackpot, would you?
E.W. Scripps Co. said it will sell United Media Licensing and the “Peanuts” brand to Joe Boxer owner Iconix Brand Group Inc. for $175 million in cash.
The
sale of United Media Licensing also means Iconix has a new partnership
with the family of the late “Peanuts” creator, Charles Schulz. They’ll
receive 20 percent ownership in the unit that owns “Peanuts” and pay
that percentage of the sale price.
United Media Licensing
represents other character brands such as Dilbert and Fancy Nancy, but
the bulk of its licensing business comes from “Peanuts.” The
acquisition grants Iconix with its first character brands. Until now
Iconix owned mostly fashion brands from Candie’s to Joe Boxer.
The
unit’s licensed merchandise has annual sales of more than $2 billion,
but the owners of the licenses receive a fraction of that. In 2009,
revenue of the unit fell 10 percent to nearly $92 million. That figure
includes United Media’s syndication operations, which Scripps will still
own, meaning it will still syndicate comic strips and editorial
features.
United Media Licensing has more than 1,200 licensing
agreements and relationships with companies and retailers such as Warner
Bros., Old Navy, CVS, MetLife Inc. and Hallmark Co. Some 20,000 new
products are approved each year in more than 40 countries.
Scripps
first brought “Peanuts” to market in 1950. By the time Schulz retired
in 1999, Peanuts was in more than 2,600 papers.
Iconix said it expects “Peanuts” to generate about $75
million in annual royalty revenue and noted a pre-existing revenue share
with the Schulz family, separate from the new 20 percent arrangement.
Iconix, based in New York, owns and licenses brands such as Joe Boxer,
London Fog, Starter and Mudd, to retailers, wholesalers and suppliers.
“The
Peanuts characters have been our entertaining co-workers and the Schulz
family has been our trusted partner for nearly 60 years. But this is
the right move for all involved as we go our separate ways in
recognition of changing times and new strategies,” said Scripps CEO Rich
Boehne.
Iconix CEO Neil Cole said the purchase moves the company
away from being one focused solely on fashion into new realms that
include theme parks, media and financial institutions– although one can easily presume that various characters will now be appearing on even more t-shirts, etc.
