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Spirit Stories You Should Read Before The Movie

  • Uncategorized
  • December 13, 2008

spirit-for-gold-4506607So Brother Glenn e-mails me with “…we do real well with those ‘stories you should read before you see the movie,’ and if anyone else but you did The Spirit list, you’d probably be insulted.” Maybe.

I’m a bit ambivalent towards this movie. I haven’t seen it, but like most of you reading this, I’ve seen the trailers. I’ve loved The Spirit ever since Jules Feiffer turned me onto the character, back in a 1965 article in Playboy magazine. My appetite completely whetted, the good folks at Harvey Comics stoked me up a year later with two “giant-sized” reprints that still remain the best of the many compilations of the character.

So now Frank Miller, a cartoonist known to be quite the Spirit fan (he even worked a reference to creator Will Eisner into RoboCop II), has directed the big Spirit movie that’s coming out any day now. It was co-produced by another comics fan-turned-writer-turned-movie powerhouse, Michael Uslan, of Batman and Swamp Thing movies fame. And those trailers – well, damn, they don’t look like Will Eisner’s creation at all. They look like Sin City with one extra color added. I try not to judge movies by their promotion (outside of triage), but this stuff’s been a bitter disappointment.

So, perhaps, this list should be perceived as “stories you should re-read after you see the movie so you remember why you went in the first place.” I hope not; I’ll be there to see the movie with the greatest hope.

Either way, coming and/or going, here’s ten of the original, truly worthwhile Spirit stories, as written and drawn by Will Eisner with the assistance of such folks as Jules Feiffer, Jerry Grandinetti, and Wally Wood. Ask me again tomorrow, and I’ll bet I give you at least five different stories.

Yep, The Spirit was that good.

These stories have been scattered among numerous reprint collections. The really cool part is, you can’t go wrong with any of them. However, for those of you who remain both employed and financially flush, I’m including The Spirit Archives volume numbers. If you want to pick up just one volume, I recommend volume 19.

1. Ten Minutes (September 11, 1949; volume 19)

2. The Story of Gerhard Shnobble (October 16, 1949; volume 19)

3. Plaster of Paris (November 7, 1948; volume 17)

4 & 5. Sand Saref and Bring In Sand Saref (January 8 and 14, 1950; volume 20)

6 & 7. The Name Is Powder and The Fallen Sparrow (January 4 and 11, 1948; volume 16)

8. Fairy Tales For Juvenile Delinquents: Cinderella (October 5, 1947; volume 15)

9. A DP On The Moon (August 10, 1952; volume 24)

10. The Story Of Rat-Tat, The Toy Machine Gun (September 4, 1949; volume 19)

 

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‘The Zeta Project’ Comes to DVD in March

  • News
  • December 13, 2008

zetaproject-s1-early-1975746Warner Home Video has announced a March 17, 2009 release for the first season DVD collection of The Zeta Project.  The animated series was loosely connected to the futuristic world of Batman Beyond, with the character making guest appearances after setting up the premise during the “Zeta” episode. It ran from January 27, 2001 through August 10, 2002 on the KidsWB.

Voices on the series included Diedrich Bader, Julie Nathanson, Kurtwood Smith, Dominique Jennings, Eli Marienthal, Scott Marquette, Michael Rosenbaum, and Lauren Tom.

The 2-disc set will come with the 11 first-season episodes (per the studio’s "production season"; note that not all online episode guides agree with this count!).

Bonus material includes both cross-over episodes of Batman Beyond, and an all-new Featurette about the origins of The Zeta Project.  Cost will be $26.99 SRP.

Here’s the breakdown of episodes on each disc for the first season set:

•    Disc 1
1.    The Accomplice
2.    His Maker’s Name
3.    Remote Control
4.    Change of Heart
5.    The Next Gen

•    Disc 2
6.    West Bound
7.    Hicksburg
8.    Shadows
9.    Crime Waves
10.    Taffy Time
11.    Kid Genius
12.    Ro’s Reunion
 

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Joss Whedon is OK With Friday Nights

  • News
  • December 13, 2008

sooliviawilliams1-2-2513472Joss Whedon told the Los Angeles Times that if he were running Fox, he would also have scheduled his new series, Dollhouse, on Friday nights. It will debut on February 13, paired with Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

"It’s not a slam dunk, ‘We love everything you’re doing’ slot. Everybody knows that," he said. “The executives I’m dealing with are canny guys."

The current executives at the network are not the same ones who played games with his last series, Firefly, and then summarily dumped it when the show was slow to find its audience.  The new execs have shown a willingness to let the series be sampled. “They’re bringing down expectations regarding how big of an audience they think it will bring in the beginning, and then as the show progresses. They need to do that."

"If I were an executive, I would have put it on Friday too, honestly,” Whedon added. “And not as a dig. The people who want this will find it, and hopefully more will as well. Fox is aware that TV just doesn’t exist the same way. People watch it online, on DVD, on their TiVos. It’s not the end of the world, but of course everyone’s been predicting the end of the world for Dollhouse‘since it was announced."

Whedon also noted that while Fox executives will likely have to wait patiently for building returns on the show, he hopes fans will be just as patient with the story line. "We’re trying to create something that’s more than the sum of its parts. And not just in an ‘Oooh, we’re heavy with mythology’ way. Dare I say we’re reaching for something more philosophical? Am I allowed to say philosophical? Or does that just mean my show will fail?"

Bryan Fuller Talks ‘Heroes’

  • News
  • December 13, 2008

Bryan Fuller spoke with Entertainment Weekly’s Michael Ausiello about his return to Heroes, commencing with the 19th episode of the season, close to the end of volume four. The series concludes it’s ‘Villains’ volume on Monday evening.

“[Former co-exec producers] Jeph [Loeb] and Jesse [Alexander], before they left the show, set so many great events in motion with the ‘Fugitives’ arc,” Fuller said. “It really is a fresh start. All of the characters are back in their real lives. You see Peter as a paramedic. Claire is looking for colleges. We get away from the world of formulas and quasi-magic.”

The new arc begins on February 2 and Fuller said, “The whole ‘Fugitives’ arc starts out very strongly, and then it gets a little dense in the middle in terms of the mythology. So I came in right at the point where everybody was realizing, ‘Oh, we’re getting too dense here and we need to put faces on stories because there is no face to a formula; there is no face to saving the world.’ So it’s turning this big ship back into a character stream, and everyone on the writing staff shares that desire. We need to get back into a character place, because that’s where this story started: Very clean, superhero metaphors to everyday life. That’s the path that we’re taking. But it is a big ship so it’s going to take a little while to turn it.” (more…)

‘Star Trek’ Beams Down to IMAX Screens

  • News
  • December 13, 2008

Paramount Pictures and IMAX Corporation announced late Friday that Star Trek, directed by J.J. Abrams (Mission: Impossible III, Lost and Alias), will be simultaneously released to both IMAX and conventional theatres worldwide on May 8, 2009. Star Trek, which chronicles the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members, will be digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience with proprietary IMAX DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology. Paramount Pictures will be the exclusive distributor of the film to IMAX theatres worldwide.

Star Trek is of course one of the world’s most successful science fiction entertainment series and media franchises. Created by Gene Roddenberry, the Star Trek phenomenon has lead to six television series, ten feature films, dozens of computer and video games, hundreds of novels and fan stories, as well as a themed attraction in Las Vegas. Star Trek has also inspired a following of millions of “Trekkies” of all ages that span across the globe.

“We’re excited to share the enhanced IMAX version of this film with the millions of dedicated fans who have been anticipating this release since production began,” said Rob Moore, Vice Chairman, Paramount Pictures in a release. “The IMAX Experience adds that extra level of excitement to an already action-packed film, giving moviegoers a premium ‘event’ at the multiplex.”

Added J.J. Abrams, “I’m thrilled that audiences will be able to experience this new, epic world of Star Trek – with an incredible cast and mind-blowing visual effects – on what is, obviously, the most remarkable film format in the world.”

“Star Trek combines top Hollywood story-telling talent with space exploration, and each is very conducive to The IMAX Experience,” said IMAX Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler. “Expanding our relationship with Paramount Pictures to include this film strengthens our 2009 slate, and with the continuing rollout of digital IMAX theatre systems, we will be able to offer the fan-base more locations to experience the epic first journey of the USS Enterprise in the most immersive way.”
 
“Both Star Trek and IMAX have taken audiences to far away places they would normally not be able to go, and in this case, it’s space – the final frontier,” added Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. “J.J. Abrams has created a powerful movie that has fans worldwide feverishly anticipating its release. We are thrilled to partner with Paramount Pictures to bring J.J.’S exciting vision of this incredible space adventure to IMAX screens.”

From director J.J. Abrams and screenwriters Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci (Transformers, MI: III) comes a new vision of the greatest space adventure of all time, Star Trek, featuring a young, new crew venturing boldly where no man has gone before. Star Trek explores the early Starfleet careers of future Enterprise officers Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Amanda Grayson (Winona Ryder), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), McCoy (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho), and Chekov (Anton Yelchin). A Romulan, Nero (Eric Bana), and a much older Spock (Leonard Nimoy) are influences, as well as Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood), the first captain of the USS Enterprise.

 

‘Iron Man 2’ to Remain Grounded

  • News
  • December 13, 2008

Justin Theroux spoke with IGN about his early work on Iron Man 2 which will start shooting next spring for a May 2010 release.

"Iron Man is just a unique character in the comic book world,” Theroux said. “He can get away with being incorrigible, slightly awful, funny, sexist at times. He has a very high threshold for things that he can do and get away with.

"So in a weird way it’s a lot of fun writing for him and it’s not like writing a more stoic superhero part. Obviously, you have the story elements and the action elements and all those gears of that you want to make sure are well oiled. But within that you can have a lot of play."

To write the sequel, he recognizes the need to keep things set in a somewhat familiar world.  "[You] can’t really go crazy,” he said. “It has to live within the same world Tony lives in, which is the world of technology. So it can’t get too far afield. It’s not really our job to suit all the other characters. Our first concern – Jon [Favreau]’s first concern – is that we raise the level on Iron Man 2 and make sure the audience gets exactly and more of what they wanted before in a really satisfying story that’s really fun and playful. As good a movie as possible. And after that we’ll think about ways that we can plug in other elements that might exist in other films or other worlds."

Production Weekly lists the film as using the working title Rasputin lending credence to the rumors of Crimson Dynamo and Black Widow making appearances. "Everything is a moving target but we’ve kind of locked in on what we think will be satisfying bad people," he said.

David Goyer Expects a ‘Blade’ Reboot

  • News
  • December 13, 2008

"I heard rumors that they may want to start from scratch with a new person playing Blade,” David S. Goyer told Shock Til You Drop. “It’s funny because I thought about how I never wanted to do a vampire film ever again because I’m sick of it. But I was reading the Tomb of Dracula Omnibus and I hadn’t read them in a long time and I thought it might be cool to do another vampire movie at some point."

Goyer made his name working on the Blade trilogy of films, starring Wesley Snipes. He has since gone on to write and direct many other genre films and thought he put the vampire hunter behind him. Hus next project is an original horror film, The Unborn, opening next month.

"God, it feels like they remake movies five years after they come out now," Goyer added. "I’m sure New Line at some point would like to do another version of it. Me? Never say never, but I think remakes are more successful the more time there is in between. Honestly, I think they should have waited for the new Hulk. I like the new one. But the longer time you have between remakes [and their originals], the better. For me, ten years is the minimum you really need."
 

Latest ‘Twilight’ Doings

  • News
  • December 13, 2008

Now that Summit Entertainment seems set on Chris Weitz directing New Moon and Eclipse, attention has turned to gearing up for production.  The pre-production period technically kicks off Monday in Vancouver, according to Entertainment Weekly. The rush is to allow Summit to capitalize on Twilight’s smash success by having the second film in Stephenie Meyer’s series come out on November 20, 2009.

Originally director Catherine Hardwicke was replaced with rumors pointing to Summit’s displeasure with her but EW’s take is that she left not willing to shoot on such an ambitious schedule.

"She’d love to do the sequel if she could do it better than Twilight,” according to an anonymous source.. “It became clear that Summit didn’t have those same priorities." Hardwicke also had issues with the budget, upped from $37 to $50 million with hefty raises for the sitars but leaving little for the clan of werewolves featured in the story.

Summit production president Erik Feig told EW about New Moon, “There is that first…script. All the finesse that turns a screenplay into a movie hasn’t ¬happened yet.” Summit hesitated to commission the sequel scripts until just weeks before the movie opened which cost them valuable time and added pressure.

Apparently, Summit is also interested in replacing Taylor Lautner, who played Jacob. His agents have been furiously campaigning to show the young actor is up for the dramatic challenges inherent in the new film.
 

‘Iron Man: Aerial Assault’ New Game for Cell Phones

  • News
  • December 13, 2008

Paramount Digital Entertainment today announced the Iron Man: Aerial Assault game for the iPhone and iPod touch is available on the Apple App Store.  Iron Man: Aerial Assault , based on the 2008 Marvel Studios film released by Paramount Pictures and starring one of Marvel’s most iconic Super Heroes, is a high-flying, action-packed game suited to provide hours of entertainment for all players.

The Iron Man game gives players the opportunity to play as Iron Man and engage in aerial combat and challenges that require quick maneuvering and accurate shooting.  As players navigate through high altitude battles, they will soar through 12 different levels of airborne combat where menacing enemies will not rest until they have conquered the skies.  To aid in the mission, players have access to high-powered weaponry and strategic flying mechanisms that will serve to eliminate those that stand in Iron Man’s path.

Using an upgradeable, high-powered armor developed by Stark Industries, players will hone their skills by using a variety of weapons to battle through wave after wave of enemy units.  With the touch of a thumb, players can access, charge and fire an arsenal of state-of-the-art weapons including repulsor blasts, missiles, and the devastating Unibeam. 

Developed by doublesix, Iron Man: Aerial Assault utilizes the innovative technology in iPhone and iPod touch, like the accelerometer and Multi-Touch users interface to enhance the game play experience while providing new and exciting challenges to conquer throughout.

Iron Man: Aerial Assault is available for $7.99 from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/

 

Archie Comics Announces New Management Team

  • News
  • December 12, 2008

Archie Comic Publications, Inc. issued a press release today, announcing promotions:

Victor Gorelick was upped  to Co-President/Editor-In-Chief and Fred Mausser named Co-President/Director of Circulation.  Michael Pellerito was named Vice President/Managing Editor. In addition to running the day-to-day operations of Archie Comic Publications, Inc., the new management team will review all areas of the company’s properties and operations in order to broaden the legacy of Archie Comics as a leader in the field of humor and family friendly entertainment for untold decades to come.

The moves were expected in the wake of Archie Chairman Michael Silberkleit’s death on August 5.

Gorelick and Mausser indicated they are extremely confident in the continuing success of these true American icons (Archie, Betty, Chuck, Jughead, Veronica and Friends), and are developing plans to bring additional projects to fruition in the near future. The potential of the Archie Comics’ stable of properties has never been brighter.

“We’re very thankful for the trust placed in us by the Estates of Richard Goldwater and Michael Silberkleit. We’re also extremely confident in the future of Archie and his Friends and will strive to bring these properties to new heights,” stated Gorelick, Mausser and Pellerito at a recent office presentation.

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