R2-D2 chorus line
We already talked about Star Wars: The Musical — now we have the kick line.
Insert obligatory "I’ve got a bad feeling about this" here.
The Mix : What are people talking about today?
‘Jonah Hex’ movie gets a new director
The Jonah Hex movie is getting a new director, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Jimmy Hayward, who directed Horton Hears a Who, has been signed to direct Hex as his second feature, and his first in live action. Prior to directing Horton,
Josh Brolin is still attached to star in the film– because after playing an ornery cuss from the south who goes in guns blazing in W., this was a natural.
Hat tip: ICV2.
Wolverine and the X-Men premiering January 23 on Nicktoons
The half-hour series Wolverine and the X-Men will finally make its US premiere on Nicktoons Network with back-to-back episodes on Friday, January 23, 8-9 pm. Produced by Marvel Animation, Wolverine and the X-Men will air regularly Fridays at 8p. The network also launches the new tie-in website, areyouamutant.com, on Tuesday, January 20, where fans can check their DNA for mutant genes, which will let them into the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters where they can visit various rooms, watch replays of the series, and play a game called Wolverine and the X-Men: Sentinel Slash.
Get those kids exposed to slash fiction while they’re young, I always say– then we can move them up to Hellfire Club costumes and really have some fun.
Additionally, content from the series will be available on TurboNick and via Nickelodeon’s wireless platforms. The series will also have a dedicated category in Nick’s VOD offering from January 19.
SciFiWire splits off from SciFi.com
Sci Fi Channel’s SciFi.com has spun off its daily entertainment news section into a standalone site SciFiWire.com. The news blog will continue to focus on pop cultural news related to the Sci Fi and fantasy genres, covering movies, books, television shows, comics, in what appears to be a much more navigable site, although their RSS feed was down at the time I looked. A few familiar names have popped up here and there in the early posts, most notably Scott Edelman, Craig Engler, and Adam Troy-Castro.
If memory serves, SciFiWire was originally the email newsletter published by Engler back in the 90’s, when SciFi bought him out and put him in charge of the digital division. Now they’re spinning it back out again. You explain it.
The satellite site is the third new launch by SciFi.com during the past year, following the debuts of gadget blog Dvice.com and gaming site Fidgit.com. So it’s trying to be Obsessable, Joystiq, and… well, us.
ComicMix QuickPicks – January 5, 2009
Today’s installment of comic-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest…
* Missed this one in the holiday wackiness: A federal appeals panel said that child pornography is illegal even if the pictures are drawn, affirming the nation’s first conviction under a 2003 federal law against such cartoons. Even though there are no actual children involved. So Dwight Whorley of Richmond is serving 20 years in prison on an anime charge, even though he could just be in jail on the photographs. Time to donate to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund…
* Washington, D.C., library officials have proposed a ban on sleeping at public libraries. Our solution? More graphic novels! No one will sleep through those thrill-packed extravagnz– oops. Too much Stan Lee there.
* Recession? How can there be a recession when you can pre-order Captain Kirk’s chair for $2200 retail?
* That’s Sir Terry Pratchett to you, buddy.
Anything else? Consider this an open thread.
Relativity Media buys Rogue Pictures
Via Deadline Hollywood: Relativity Media, LLC has purchased Rogue Pictures from Universal Pictures and acquired Rogue’s entire library, its more than 30 projects in development and ownership of its producing deals, including the deal with Wes Craven.
The first picture set for release under this new deal is writer/director David S. Goyer’s (The Dark Knight) new horror film, The Unborn, produced by Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes production company. The Unborn is a supernatural thriller that follows Casey (Odette Yustman) a young woman pulled into a world of nightmares when a demonic spirit haunts her and threatens everyone she loves. Plagued by merciless dreams and a tortured ghost that haunts her waking hours, Casey learns that the spirit may be the soul of her unborn twin brother and must turn to the only person who can make it stop– Rabbi Sendak (Gary Oldman). The Unborn opens Friday.
Blog@Newsarama checked in with Hack/Slash creator Tim Seeley, since the film version of that comic was in development at Rogue. "Seeley confirmed that his book is still in the Rogue pipeline. He also indicated that there may be more information in the offing." Between that and Devil’s Due getting back up to speed, those are good signs.
The Point – January 5th, 2009
We jump into the New Year with our first regular broadcast, covering that New Doctor (“Doctor Twilight”?), What went wrong with The Spirit (Frank Miller liked the voices), What we guarantee will be hot in ’09 and Five cool things in your comic store this week. And that’s just the start!
PRESS THE BUTTON and you’ll Get The Point!
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Review: ‘French Milk’ by Lucy Knisley
French Milk
By Lucy Knisley
Touchstone, October 2008, $15.00
The first thing to know – and to keep in your head – is that Lucy Knisley is twenty-two years old. That’s fantastically young to be planning and executing a nearly two-hundred-page-long drawn book, and the mere fact that she did it is impressive. And so if I say that [[[French Milk]]] is a bit thin, a bit obvious, and clearly created by a very young woman – that’s only to be expected, and not a major criticism.
French Milk is a sketchbook diary, something like Craig Thompson’s [[[Carnet de Voyage]]] or Enrico Casarosa’s [[[The Venice Chronicles]]]. Knisley flew to Paris with her mother just after Christmas of 2006 – she was turning twenty-two, and her mother was turning fifty, which added up to a good enough excuse – and the two of them lived there in an apartment for just about a month. French Milk is the story of that month, and of a few days before and afterward – several pages are devoted to each day, with photos and drawings and narrative.
2008 Weblog Awards nominations, comics category
The 2008 Weblog Awards finalists have come out and voting starts today. The nominees for Best Comic Strip:
Day By Day
Calamities of Nature
Town Called Dobson
Garfield Minus Garfield
What the Duck
The Book of Biff
Medium-Large
Dilbert
Jesus and Mo
xkcd
In addition, The Comics Curmudgeon is up for Best Humor Blog. Go forth, vote early, and vote often.
Hero Initiative membership drive
A press release from the Hero Initiative:
The Hero Initiative announced today that annual memberships for the organization are now available for purchase. There are four levels of membership: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Excelsior!
A Bronze membership costs $29 and includes: a personalized membership card (which will arrive approximately 4-5 weeks after you sign up), a quarterly newsletter and a Hero Initiative sketch card from a randomly selected artist. Artists include Mike Bencic, Dan Brereton, Dick Giordano, Bob Hall, Dan Jurgens, Mike Mayhew, George Pérez, Joe Quesada, John Romita Sr., Dave Simons, Jim Valentino, Carly Wagner, Bob Wiacek, Richard Zajac and more!
A Silver membership costs $99 and includes: all of the Bronze perks, plus a Hero Initiative T-shirt (your choice of Dawn or Hero Hand), a copy of the Marvel Then and Now DVD and a copy of The Unusual Suspects graphic novel.
A Gold membership costs $250 and includes: all of the Silver perks, plus invitations to Hero Initiative VIP Members-Only parties at 2009’s Wizard World Los Angeles and Wizard World Chicago.
An Excelsior! membership costs $500 and includes: all of the Gold perks, plus your flat item (maximum size 11” x 17”), signed and personalized by the one and only Stan Lee.
“I’m always amazed and happy to see the support that fans have shown Hero,” said Hero Initiative President Jim McLauchlin. “Hopefully, this will be a new way they can show affinity, and get some nice goodies in the process.”
This is the first time memberships to The Hero Initiative have been offered. It was put into place with the fans foremost in mind and on consultation with GeekInTheCity.com, a website that covers all things geek, from comics to movies to games. As such, GeekInTheCity’s Aaron Duran is member #1, Jen Duran is member #2 and Stan Lee is member #3. Creator Paul Dini (Detective Comics, Madame Mirage) is also a member already, as is Mid-Ohio Con promoter Roger Price.
The Hero Initiative does more than help people in need,” said Aaron Duran, explaining why he was eager to help start this membership drive. “They give back to those that inspired our hopes and dreams. They help artists and writers in need, artists and writers that inspired all our tomorrows. Please help the Hero Initiative protect theirs.”
To become a member of The Hero Initiative, fans can sign up at www.atomiccomicsstore.com/heroinitiative.html or on-site at The Hero Initiative booth at the following upcoming comic book conventions: Phoenix Cactus Comic-Con, Jan. 23-25; New York Comic Con, Feb. 6-8; WonderCon, Feb. 27 – March 1; Orlando MegaCon, Feb. 27 – March 1; and Wizard World Los Angeles, March 13-15.
More info at their blog: http://heroinitiative.blogspot.com/
