World of Warcraft continues to conquer all territories it visits, be it online games, board games or comic books.  The inevitable film seems to be next on the horizon.

Blizzard executive VP of product development Frank Pearce told MTV “Legendary Pictures is currently trying to assign some names to write the screenplay and find someone to direct it, so it’s still really early in production. They want to make sure they get the right talent for those different parts, especially the screenwriting, because that’s the foundation for the movie.”

“It would be a huge undertaking and it’s not really something that we’re ready to do anytime soon.” There’s discussion between doing the film CGI with motion capture effects or live-action mixed with CGI.

The most recent expansion game, Wrath of the Lich King reportedly sold 2.8 million copies within its first 24 hours of release.
 

Long before AleX Ross, Bob Larkin became the first major painter to be known for super-hero covers thanks to his work on Marvel’s black & white magazine covers throughout the 1970s.  He was also tapped to paint the Marvel super-heroes when Fireside Press began collecting origins of the heroes.

Since then, he has been a celebrated figure for his work in science fiction, fantasy and comic books. More recently he has done licensing artwork featuring the WWE superstars. His work will be the focus of The Savage Art of Bob Larkin – Volume One, just announced from Sal Q Productions for February 2009 release.

According to a release: “There are innovators who blaze trails to show the way forward, and creative genius Bob Larkin is certainly one of them. His magazine and paperback covers are legendary. From Conan to Star Wars, Doc Savage to The Hulk, there’s little that artist Bob Larkin hasn’t painted during his lengthy career. This full spectrum color retrospective also includes an introduction by Joe Jusko and an afterword by Alex Ross.”

The 64-page volume will be an oversized softcover retailing for $19.95.
 

Just the other day we were talking about Steve Spielberg and Will Smith teaming up for the English language adaptation of the South Korean hit Old Boy. Additional details have been coming out with The Hollywood Reporter saying Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) will likely be the screenwriter. Smith, who acted in the film, recommended Protosevich for the gig.

Smith told  Film School Rejects that rather than do a new version of Chan-wook Park’s award-winning 2003 film, they will start with the same source material,  Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi’s Manga.

"We’re looking at that right now. Not the film though, it’s the original source material. There’s the original comics of Oldboy that they made the first film from. And that’s what we’re working from, not an adaptation of the film" Smith told them.

The Manga was published in America over eight volumes by Dark Horse Comics.

Dark Horizons notes, “Though similar, there’s some notable differences between the graphic novel and the darker original film with its darker elements from live eating of octopii to brother-sister incest.”

Crunchyroll, a website offering anime on line, has announced a January 8 debut for the latest episodes from the shojo anime series Skip Beat and Shugo Chara. Subscribers  will be able to watch these along with the previously announced episodes of Naruto as part of their deal with TV Tokyo.

According to ICv2, Skip Beat is produced by Hal Film Maker, which debuted in Japan on October 5.  “It is based on the Manga by Yoshiki Nakamura about a 16 year-old girl who gets revenge on her pop idol boyfriend by becoming a bigger star herself.  The Skip Beat Manga is published here by Viz Media.”

The Shugo Chara anime, which “is based on the magical girl Manga created by Peach-Pit (published here by Del Rey), debuted in October of 2007.  A second season, Shugo Chara!! Doki, debuted on October 10, and will likely provide the ‘newest episodes’ of Shugo Chara promised by Crunchyroll.”

When the writer’s strike crippled audiences getting to know and love many freshman series last season, NBC and ABC decided that five would be held back for reintroduction this fall.  The shows — Chuck, Life, Pushing Daisies, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money.  On Friday, the verdict came down that the plan didn’t work as anticipated.

ABC has chosen not to renew Pushing and Dirty Sexy Money beyond their first thirteen episodes for the season. Private Practice will be slotted behind Grey’s Anatomy to try and salvage the creatively disjointed series. Life and Chuck seem to be faring better and the network is supporting them.

Also being canceled is Eli Stone which was a midseason replacement last spring.

"It’s all true," Daisies creator Bryan Fuller told Entertainment Weekly. "I’m so very proud of this show and grateful for everyone’s hard work in bringing it to life.

Replacing the shows will be the eighth and possibly final season of Scrubs, which moves to ABC after seven years on NBC. It debuts on January 6 at 9 p.m. with two weeks of a full hour of new episodes followed by the series settling in on January 20 at 9:30.
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First Showing is reporting that Star Trek will not only beam into multiplexes around the nation, but can also be found on IMAX.

Other IMAX releases are scheduled to include Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

In other Star Trek news, Paramount released two more teaser posters featuring Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and the villain Nero (Eric Bana) as seen here.

IDW released the cover to the first issue of Star Trek: Countdown #1, the prequel miniseries coming in January.

The story is plotted by Trek screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman and scripted by Mike Johnson (Superman/Batman) and Tim Jones, with  art by David Messina (Star Trek: Mirror Images). Messina also provides covers for the series.

“There was a lot of back and forth about doing this project, how to do it, what it would be about, but what all parties agreed on was that we needed the right story and that it needed to matter. It had to count both on its own merits and when read in conjunction with the new movie,” said series editor Andy Schmidt in a release. “I couldn’t be happier with the project and what it means to the overall Star Trek franchise!”

"Star Trek: Countdown lays the groundwork for what happens in the movie," said Roberto Orci. "It’s our way of passing the baton from the Next Generation characters and their movies to the new film." 

Michigan-based William Messner-Loebs has had a very difficult life since birth but he remains undaunted as he continues to write and draw comics.  This year, he seemed to have hit rock bottom and the industry rallied to his support.  Additionally, IDW republished his classic independent title, Journey, and he has found work after too many fallow years.

Michigan’s MLive blog recently provided an update on Messner-Loebs who clearly recognizes the generosity of his peers. Brad Meltzer and Geoff Johns led the current wave of industry support following previous waves of support, headed by Mark Waid and Tom Peyer.

"It’s so heartwarming. When this sort of thing happens you feel utterly alone and forgotten. To have people give us the help they have, and the really touching letters and e-mails that enabled us to go on, was a blessing," the 59 year old creator said.

Both Messner-Loebs and his wife Nadine have suffered numerous ailments requiring surgery and hospitalization that left them teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. They wound up living in homeless shelters as Messner-Loebs attempt to find temp work but felt he was never chosen given his status as a one-armed man.

When Waid became editor-in-chief at BOOM! Studios, he was in a position to do more than just send money or rally support.  He gave the man work. "That’s less an indication of the kind of person I am and far more a measure of the kind of guy Bill is — a loyal and good man who has a way about him that everyone adores," said Waid. "In the quarter-century I’ve known Bill, I’ve never heard anyone express anything but affection for him. Never once."

His work at BOOM! can be found in Zombie Tales while he has also drawn " for Boom! Chicken Wings for the Beer Drinker’s Soul for Novi-based Com Publishing. Messner-Loebs also illustrates a monthly cartoon for the Livingston Parent Journal which will be  turned into a line of greeting cards and a calendar.

"Humor is a subversive reflex. I’m not sure I could abandon it, even if I wanted to. Besides, the day we officially lost the house was Sept. 10, 2001. I had exactly 24 hours to feel like the unluckiest person on the planet. Then I grew up," he said.

"So many people have invested in me getting back on my feet; it’d be a betrayal of them if I didn’t keep going."

In 2006, the couple had been given enough cash to allow them to buy and live in a mobile home in Green Oak Township.

While working here and there, he continues to plan for a new volume in the adventures of Wolverine McAllister, the pioneer star of Journey. "I had been reading about the mountain men of the 1830s. Well, these were legendary guys and underused in a way that western gunslingers weren’t. The scruffiness and casualness of the ambiance was appealing to me. As I started (the) stories, I realized I’d be investing a huge amount of time just to figure out the basic topography, flora and fauna of California. If I moved the scene 20 years earlier those same trappers and pioneers would be in Michigan. I could do research by just looking out the window."

Warner Bros. has signaled its intent to corral all their DC heroes in one place but internally shifting Shazam! from their New Line division to Warner proper. The news came when the studio announced that Peter Segal has been given a three year first-look deal according to Variety.

The director and producer Michael Ewing formed Callahan Film works to produce projects together after first meeting on the set of Naked Gun 33 1/3. The deal now has the duo prepping not only Shazam, still to be written by John August, but also a sequel to Get Smart and Liam McBain: International Tennis Star and Proper English Geezer. The latter is an original story that “follows the rise, fall and ultimate redemption of a fictional British tennis star of the 80s.”

August last wrote in the late winter that he was finishing a draft of the delayed Shazam! film but nothing has been stated about the project since. August replaced William Goldman who wrote several drafts before leaving the project.  No casting has been announced although most expect Dwayne Johnson to sign on to portray Black Adam, the antagonist. 

Twilight exceeded studio expectations by raking in $70,553,000 over the three day weekend, with 75% coming from female ticket buyers.  The Summit Entertainment film was expected to do well but the smash hit easily beat the analysts by $5 million. This also made director Catherine Hardwicke the top female director in terms of box office pull,

The franchise has been compared with the Harry Potter series in terms of writing, audience and magic pull it has had on the public consciousness.  The movie opened to tepid reviews that faulted it for hewing too closely to the novel, just as the first Potter film did.  Author Stephenie Meyer seems to have run roughshod over Hardwicke resulting in a film designed to appease the girls who have memorized the novel.  Reviews also faulted the dialogue and lack of chemistry between the leads and yet it will be among the best performing films of the year and rake in bug bucks when the DVD releases next year.  Meantime,  Summit has already green lit the second film, New Moon, as if there was any doubt.

Unfortunately, Disney miscalculated by not moving Bolt out of Twilight’s way and the film underperformed by $10 million, taking in only $27 million, since most of the audience was seeing the vampire romance instead. It should do better this coming weekend as families spend time during the four-day weekend. As a result, it opened in third place.

As for James Bond,Quantum of Solace dipped a steep 59.4% from last week’s mammoth opening and took in $27.4 million, pushing its two week total to $109,483,000, good for second place based on estimates from Box Office Mojo.

Fourth place went to Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa which caged another $16 million and continues to entertain.  The fifth spot went to teen comedy Role Models which took in just $7,229,000.

Audiences seem not yet ready for the serious dramas that normally roll out at this time of year, mostly to gain Oscar buzz and nominations. As a result, many big budget films have sputtered since opening, beginning with Warner’s bomb Body of Lies.  Currently, Universal’s Changeling is struggling to find audiences and has just $31,613,000 after five weeks despite good reviews and a solid pedigree. Fox’s The Secret Life of Bees is also hurting with a mere $35,649,000 after six weeks.

Comedies, romantic and otherwise, have also found the going rough with Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno grabbing just $1.7 million this weekend and Soul Men taking in under a million. 

On the other hand, Slumdog Millionaire has been showing strength in limited release with a 176.1% increase as it has expanded to 32 screens, averaging a healthy $31,063 per screen.

Genre films have done all right with horror fests Saw V and The Haunting of Molly Hartley doing as expected with the former grabbing $56,405,000 I five weeks and a sixth installment already on the boards for 2009. Max Payne, though, did not do well and is seen as a disappointment for Fox with just $40.3 million after six weeks. Igor, though, was a CGI dud for MGM and likely will end its run with about $20 million.