Three more stills from Star Trek have appeared in the United Kingdom’s Empire magazine.  The current issue, now on sale, has a cover story on the making of the film.  Since not everyone stateside can easily find the magazine, we present the images for your viewing pleasure.

Marvle this morning released a teaser for a new event in the Marvel Universe.  No creators, timing or content was released with the teaser. We’re going to guess that it maybe a part of the 2009 Dark Reign event spinning out of the end of Secret Invasion.  It does not resemble the future Iron Men seen in last week’s New Warriors.  Any guesses?

While Tony Stark is drunk on booze, Robert Downey Jr. is drunk on Tony Stark. Marvel has announced that the actor will once again don the superheroic lush’s iron clad boots for Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3 and The Avengers. While it was widely assumed that RDJ would return, this is the first official word from Marvel Studios themselves. It’s also the first casting decision made for The Avengers, insuring that at least some continuity will carry over in the Marvel movie-verse.

Additionally, Jon Favreau and Don Cheadle have also made deals with Marvel. Favreau is officially announced as the director for Iron Man 2 and will serve as executive producer on The Avengers. Favreau had publicly declared his hopes to direct The Avengers, but conceded that it was an unlikely scenario given the close proximity to working on Iron Man 2.

Cheadle, meanwhile, has officially dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s to play Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes for Iron Man 2. Marvel notes that "Cheadle is also signed on to perform the same role in The Avengers and subsequent installments of the Iron Man franchise." It’s almost a sure thing that War Machine will pop up in Iron Man 2 so that he can team up with Stark and the other heroes in The Avengers. Cheadle’s official casting is sure to crush some spirits that were hoping for a last minute Terrence Howard revival.

Interestingly enough, Favreau is the only one of the three not officially signed for Iron Man 3. Months ago, Marvel was reportedly set to drop the director from Iron Man 2 due to financial disagreements. That, as it later turned out, was Terrence Howard’s downfall instead. Still, it appears that the studio is keeping Favreau’s involvement at a slight arm’s length in case the money problems pop up once again.

Either way, it’s exciting to have some official movement on Iron Man 2 and The Avengers. The next few years should be pretty solid for comic book fans. (more…)

This past weekend I was in California to attend my brother’s wedding. It was a lovely afternoon; they held the ceremony in the upstairs loft apartment attached to the back of their house, and the reception in their back yard. I still can’t figure out how they fit 120+ people in that space, but they did. And my brother looked so ecstatic, and my new sister-in-law so beautiful, and I remember thinking, “He’s finally paired off the way Robin and I are! Another happy ending!”

On the plane ride back to New York, JetBlue’s satellite TV reception wasn’t working properly on many of their channels (aside from that our flights were terrific, and I highly recommend JetBlue — there’s no first class to fight through and get sneered at, the seats were comfy with plenty of leg room, it’s the first time I haven’t had to ask for a seat belt extender, and the new T5 terminal at JFK is spiffy indeed) so the crew arranged for us to see the normally-charged second-run films for free. Comics geek that I seem to be less and less, I opted not to watch The Incredible Hulk, in favor of back-to-back viewings of Get Smart and Baby Mama.

I enjoyed both movies more than I thought I would. I like how Get Smart was updated for the 21st century just enough to have Maxwell Smart be internally believable as mostly competent but just a little accident-prone. Lots of identification there, you betcha! And although the age discrepancy between Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway saddened me, at least there was a decent in-story explanation for it. Besides, they’re both fun actors to watch, and easy to root for as they follow the formulaic plot to its climax and wind up (as did the characters in the original series) together, set to have further open-ended adventures.

Baby Mama was a terrific vehicle for all the main actors involved, wasn’t anywhere near as cringeworthy as the ads made it seem, and had a Happy Ending. Multiple Happy Endings, in fact, all featuring the apparently ultimate goal of all women — to give birth. The premise had Tina Fey’s character unable to conceive, but (and I don’t think I’m spoiling something which was pretty heavily telegraphed throughout the film) she winds up pregnant towards the end after, of course, having established a Real Relationship with a guy (is it my imagination or is Greg Kinnear always cast as the thinking woman’s love interest?) who doesn’t hesitate to call her a dick when she acts like one (probably my favorite bit of dialogue). Anyway, amid the smiles and occasional chuckles there’s even a running gag about how fertile a decidedly middle-aged Sigourney Weaver is. It seems in Hollywood every woman gets pregnant right away, preferably after she’s fallen in love with the right guy — a pretty tortuous theme for someone like me who’s wanted a kid as much as Fey’s character did but lives in the real world.

But there’s something inherently appealing about pairing off, whether with your True Love or a Mini-You, signifying completion. Hey, I’m a sucker for happy endings too. I often lament that more comics don’t have happy endings or, for that matter, endings of any kind. Most Big Two stories prefer to go the serial route, like soap operas and, well, life.

So maybe comics have the right idea after all, concentrating on happy voyages rather than happy destinations. (more…)