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Ride With The Transformers!

  • News
  • October 22, 2008

Ever wanted to ride shotgun in the red cab of Optimus Prime’s big rig truck? Get in the cockpit of Starscream’s fighter jet? Now’s your chance, as Universal Studios has announced a Transformers attraction at its parks in Hollywood and Singapore. The attractions are scheduled to open in 2011, two years after the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

According to a press release, the Transformers ride will utilize "3D-HD media, mega special effects and stunning robotics with a ride system that will transform perceptions of theme park experiences. The rides are scheduled to make their debuts in early 2011, first at Universal Studios Singapore and then at Universal Studios Hollywood."

"Transformers will be a jewel in our collection of world-class rides based on great movies," says Tom Williams, Chairman and CEO of Universal Parks & Resorts. "We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Hasbro, DreamWorks, director Michael Bay and the film’s executive producer, Steven Spielberg, who has been responsible for so many of our signature rides and attractions."

"We are thrilled to be working with Universal Parks & Resorts and DreamWorks to create this Transofmers attraction because we believe it will deliver an ultimate one of a kind immersive Transformers experience for our fans around the world!" said Brian Goldner, President and CEO of Hasbro, Inc.

Just be careful that the ride doesn’t transform with you inside of it. That would suck. (more…)

‘Haunted’ Film In Development

  • News
  • October 22, 2008

Hollywood’s favorite shock novelist Chuck Palahniuk is getting another movie adaptation in the form of Haunted. The book’s film rights are being optioned with the newly formed New School Media, headed by former ICM literary agent Brian Levy. Koen Mortier, whose directorial debut Ex-Drummer premiered at least year’s Toronto Film Festival, will direct the adaptation.

Variety describes Haunted as focusing on "a group of characters who answer an ad for a writers retreat and unwittingly end up competing in a Survivor-like scenario, where the host withholds heat, power and food. As the storytellers grow more desperate they ruthlessly plot to make themselves the hero of the reality show or film that they expect will be made from their plight."

It’s strange to see Haunted getting the film treatment before other popular Palahniuk properties, namely Survivor, Lullaby and Invisible Monsters. Those novels are more story focused, whereas Haunted is essentially an anthology piece with a loose plot weaving throughout each character’s short stories. The novel’s most notorious story is Guts, which depicts three grotesque masturbation related accidents. The story, which is incredibly vile and definitely not for kids, is available on Chuck Palahniuk’s official site. Proceed with extreme caution.

The Oregon-based author has seen two of his earlier novels hit the big screen. David Fincher directed the 1999 breakout hit Fight Club, starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt in his famous turn as lunatic Tyler Durden. Most recently, Palahniuk’s Choke is heading to cinemas as directed by Clark Gregg. Sam Rockwell stars as Victor Mancini, a con artist who chokes in restaurants, prompting rich people to save his life and line his pockets with a dependable flow of income as a sign of gratitude. Choke was released on September 26, 2008 in the United States on a limited basis.

‘Knight Rider’ Continues Riding

  • Uncategorized
  • October 21, 2008

hoff-knight-rider-6564093Despite poor ratings and widely disparaging reviews, NBC’s Knight Rider reboot has gained a full season pickup. Nine additional episodes have been ordered by NBC, reports Entertainment Weekly, paving the way for a full season of the ’80s inspired series.

Knight Rider originally existed in the ’80s as a David Hasselhoff television series focusing on a nearly murdered police detective who turns into a high tech crime fighting vigilante. In the original series, William Daniels voiced a talking automobile named KITT, standing for Knight Industries Two Thousand. Daniels is most popularly known as Mr. Feeney on Boy Meets World.

In February 2008, a Knight Rider television movie was released to serve as a backdoor pilot for a relaunch of the series. The reboot focuses on Mike Traceur, the son of David Hasselhoff’s character from the original. Val Kilmer provides the voice for KITT, even though Will Arnett was initially cast as the loudmouthed vehicle. The Arrested Development star ultimately pulled out due to a conflicting interest with General Motors.

Is anyone watching the new Knight Rider? Is it any good? Does it deserve the full season pickup, or should it be offered up to that old junkyard in the sky? You tell us.

The CW, meantime, has ordered two more scripts for its drama Privileged which is good news for the show which is hampered by the limp 90210 reamke as a lead in.

Interview: Todd McFarlane on the State of Comics

  • News
  • October 21, 2008

Yesterday, the first part of my interview with Spawn creator Todd McFarlane focused on issue 185 of the long-running comic and the changes in store for readers as he returns to active creative duty with Whilce Portacio and Brian Holguin.

Since part one ran, it has been announced that the shipping date has slipped a week and the issue, complete with previously unannounced variant covers, will now be in stores on October 29.

In the second part of our discussion, we chatted about approaching the big 200 mark, the comics landscape overall today and what it might look like in the future, as well as a few Spawn-related surprises.

ComicMix: With issue 200 on the horizon and the “end of Spawn” being teased, will Spawn continue past issue 200?

Todd McFarlane: Yeah, [Issue] 200 we’re already planning for. We’ve thrown enough ripples out already and that people will sort of go ‘whoa’ and have to pay attention to keep pace with it. And 200 will allow us to get to one of the big notes and it’s all sort of a Pandora’s Box; you close one door and another one opens. We’ll have a nice compelling story for 200.

CMix: The comic landscape has changed and continues to change in a lot of ways with all kinds of different formats on the shelves and walking into bookstores now with full sections devoted to trades and original graphic novels, as well as the rise of webcomics and digital formats on the Internet. What are your thoughts in general on these trends and new directions in comics as a medium?

TM: The medium of comic books, which is a combination of words and pictures, I don’t think that medium is ever going to go away. I believe what will evolve over our lifetimes and it’s been a slow evolution, is the delivery mechanism. Is it possible that some day everybody who reads a comic book will turn on a computer? I guess, but it’ll still be words and pictures, it just happens to be in digital form. The basic form of what a comic is will never die. The delivery mechanism, to me, is less important. If people want them in trade paperback, in book form, on their computers, on the back of cereal boxes, I mean, whatever, but it’d still be a comic book. So I’ll let the consumer tell us where they want to get their fix on this medium and then we’ll hopefully not be too far behind the curve and we can give it to them.

CMix: Do you see the monthly pamphlet format headed for extinction at some point as some people have suggested?

TM: It’s possible as long as someone can offset it with another business model that gets it to the consumer. Again, as long as you give people an option as to where they can get it. Change for change’s sake doesn’t make much sense. At some point, there might be an economic tipping point where you look at sales and see you’re selling 51% or more doing something a new way rather than the old way so you start putting all of your resources behind the new way like the transition from VHS to DVD at Blockbuster where [DVD] was 5% and then 10% and then it took over. If we’re going to go in that direction, I sort of see it being the same as other business models where it’ll simply be a slow transition. (more…)

ComicMix Radio: Spike Hits With Watchmen

  • News
  • October 21, 2008

As you read earlier here on ComicMix, The 2008 Spike Awards gave comics their due and to add to it all, Warner Brothers will provide some Watchmen footage to run during tonight’s awards broadcast. We give your TiVo the tip, plus:

Deadpool blows out again at Marvel
Geoff Johns continues to make sense at DC
Big week for Bond fans

All that and Benny Hill, too – just  Press the Button!
 

 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-6885464 or RSS!

 

Studios Shuffle Holiday Schedules

  • News
  • October 21, 2008

As films falter in meeting their deadlines to make their scheduled release dates, studios are constantly shuffling the calendar.  This time of years the gamesmanship is especially tough as studios eye projects with the hopes of securing Academy Award nominations. The dominoes have been falling with particular speed in the last week so here’s a recap.

With The Weinstein Company most likely bumping The Road from November to December to 2009, it has put its marketing efforts behind The Reader.

This was seen as a good opportunity for Paramount which had a lot of faith in the Robert Downey Jr. film, The Soloist.  Instead, they surprised prognosticators and moved the film to March 13, 2009. Word is that test screenings did not go well and rather than spend extra dollars to rush, Paramount’s budget cutting has prompted the schedule shift.

The studio has also delayed Defiance, the World War II drama starring Daniel Craig, to open on December 31, just in time to qualify for the Oscars but away from the box office competition in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

What this does is also shift which performers will receive studio dollars behind Oscar bids.  As we wave farewell to Viggo Mortenson, Jamie Foxx and others, the field now turns to focus on Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Mickey Rourke (Wrestler), Josh Brolin (W.), Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) and Sean Penn (Milk).  Downey is likely to be pushed by Paramount for both Iron Man and more likely a supporting nod in Tropic Thunder while Warner Bros. will most certainly launch a major campaign for Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker in The Dark Knight.

The final bit of scheduling news also involves Downey as his Sherlock Holmes has been pencilled in for November 20 2009.

Green Directing ‘Freaks of the Heartland’

  • News
  • October 21, 2008

Pineapple Express director David Gordon Green has been tapped to direct Freaks of the Heartland, an adaptation of the Dark Horse graphic novel from Steve Niles and Greg Ruth, for Overture Films. The screenplay was written by Peter Sattler and Geoff Davey. Green will produce alongside Dark Horse Entertainment president Mike Richardson, with Steve Niles executive producing.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 2004 limited series centers on "the horrible secret of a rural Middle American town involves Trevor Owen’s attempts to protect his ‘monster’ of a 6-year-old younger brother and Gristlewood Valley’s other ‘freaks’ from their parents’ worst instincts."

Overture Films is currently developing other genre movies Pandorum and a remake of George A. Romero’s The Crazies. Their most recent release was the Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro starring Righteous Kill.

Freaks of the Heartland is the second of Steve Niles’ graphic novels to be adapted for film. 30 Days of Night, arguably Niles’ most commonly known work, was released in 2007 by director David Slade. Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston and Ben Foster starred in the film.

‘Star Trek: Countdown’ Begins in January

  • News
  • October 21, 2008

IDW has released details about the prequel comic book miniseries leading into next May’s Star Trek reboot. Entitled Star Trek: Countdown, it will focus on Nero, the villainous Romulan played by Eric Bana and said to be seen at the film’s beginning set in Trek’s present before the time travel elements kick in and we see the familiar crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise unite for the first time.

The miniseries will be written by Mike Johnson (Superman/Batman) and Tim Jones from a story crafted by Trek director J.J. Abrams and screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.  Art will come from Italian draftsman David Messina who has previously drawn for IDW’s Trek line.

Countdown launches in January and will run for four monthly issues with the trade collection already announced for April 29, just a week prior to the May 2 release of the feature film.

“[Star Trek: Countdown] is about how you connect the Next Generation era to our continuity, inspired by when we last saw Mr. Spock in ‘Unification’,” Orci told TrekMovie.com.

“I can assure you that we all (IDW and Bad Robot) are at work in order to be faithful to the spirit of Star Trek!” Messina enthusiastically posted at the site. “…and believe me, you can’t imagine how huge and picky is our ‘pre-production’ work for this book! Mike and Tim are great Star Trek fans, while even if I’m not a Trek’s guy, I’m a really great lover of Sci-Fi… I really hope that you’ll like our book, we are at work on it with great passion.”

whoisthenewblackpanther-1322101

Female Black Panther to Debut in February

  • Uncategorized
  • October 21, 2008

whoisthenewblackpanther-1322101The Washington Post, this morning, broke the news that Marvel intends to cancel Black Panther and reboot the series with someone new in the totemic Panther outfit.  This time, though, it will be a woman.

The timing of the relaunch is clearly tied to Black History Month, February 2009, and current writer, Reginald Hudlin, will be back. No artist was named.

Hudlin told the Post, "Over the course of 40 issues [over three years], we … really defined the character in a way that hadn’t been done before. … Having done that, you go: "How do we up the stakes?" Marvel is great about doing really shocking changes to their character — they don’t believe in just keeping everything as status quo."

Introduced by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Fantastic Four #52 in 1966, T’Challa was the first prominent black character in the Marvel Universe and was a popular supporting player until he received his own series in Jungle Tales in the 1970s.  The current title was first written for the Marvel Knights imprint by Christopher Priest before Hudlin took over.

Under Hudlin, the Panther married Storm from the X-Men and has defended his country of Wakanda from foreign and intergalactic invaders.

He has been challenged to be the Panther in the past but this time the change appears more than cosmetic. "There will be another after him," Hudlin said of T’Challa. "In the same way that he became the Black Panther because his father was assassinated and died before his time, the same could happen to T’Challa."

Marvel’s editor-in-chief, Joe Quesada, told the paper, "It was a very cool idea. Especially thinking about the legacy of the character," he says. "The fact that this is sort of a part of the Wakandan religion, and their royal family. It was a neat approach to the Black Panther, and I think it will add a wonderful twist to everything."

"Honestly, my entire run on the series has been controversial. Which is great," Hudlin added. "All the writers I admire are hotly debated online, and I feel like I’m always in great company in that situation. But more importantly, it means that people care about the book."

"That’s one of the goals I set: to broaden and diversify the comic book audience," Quesada said. "We’re breaking that gender barrier." Of course, this is far from the first time a prominent hero has been replaced by a female version dating back to the 1980s.

T’Challa will live on in animated form as his series remains scheduled to air on BET, where Hudlin recently resigned as head, in 2009

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Review: ‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ Episode #206

  • Uncategorized
  • October 21, 2008

206scc-jesse-8853691Note: Click here to relive the past episode!

This Week’s Operation: “The Tower Is Tall But The Fall Is Short”
From Fox: “What would a T-1001 need with a Doctor? Sarah, John and Cameron may soon find out as they track down another name on their list. Elsewhere, a woman from Derek’s past surprises him in the present.”

Damage Analysis
“The Tower Is Tall But The Fall Is Short” is the first episode of [[[Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]] in two weeks, and it’s about as good as the show typically offers. There’s interesting character development, including the introduction of a new player in the war against the machines.

The episode focuses largely on Catherine Weaver, the secret liquid metal Terminator in charge of ZeiraCorp. As per the episode summary, it looks like Weaver is not a T-1000, but a T-1001. Big difference, folks. It’s an established fact that Terminators can impersonate preexisting humans, but this episode insinuates that the Weaver we know has been impersonating the true Weaver for at least a couple of years. Catherine’s awkwardness around her daughter Savannah makes a lot of sense given that, well, she’s a robot and the kid’s a kid. Not exactly a match made in heaven, unless you’re Arnold Schwarzenegger. Shirley Manson might not have the sickest acting chops on the planet, but she pulls the part off serviceably, all the while adding an interesting new villain in the mix. And, once again, we feel awful for poor Savannah, who has no idea that mommy dearest has more in common with a toaster than she does with her.

(more…)

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