In the old days, Disney was paralyzed by indecision as executives kept trying to imagine “what Walt would do.” Under recent management, the studio has been expanding in many different directions, including adding foreign points of view to their filmmaking.  The studio is now proceeding with making live-action film under a new Walt Disney Pictures India banner.

The Hollywood Reporter says four films will be produced for starters.

"We have finalized two projects to start with, which include The 19th Step starring top South Indian actor Kamal Hassan, directed by Bharat Bala. The second is Zokkomon, starring top child actor Darsheel Safari and directed by Satyajit Bhatkal," a WDCI spokesperson told the trade.

Joining Hassan in Step will be Japanese star Asano Tadanabo and fellow Indian actress Asin. Step’s plot will “revolve around the ancient Indian martial arts form Kalarippayattu”.

Zokkomon is described as a children’s tale. Its star, Safari, gained praise from last year’s Taare Zameen Par (Stars on Earth). Walt Disney Home Video acquired the film about a boy with dyslexia for international distribution.

Mumbai-based Yash Raj Films has previously partnered with Disney for animated fare and the first effort from that partnership,  Roadside Romeo, with voices from Bollywood’s Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor will open October 24.

Vampires remain popular as noted by the success of HBO’s True Blood series and the enduring appeal of Dracula.  It’s with little surprise to see that Mike Newell’s 50 Canon Entertainment has optioned Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson character for development.

Mercy’s adventures take place in Washington state’s Tri-Cities area.  She’s a VW mechanic living in a world where vampires and werewolves are neighbors and not necessarily nasty threats. There are three Mercy Thompson novels in print, all from Ace Books and include Moon Called (2006), which is the story of a vampire-hunter who has the ability to shape shift into a coyote, Blood Bound (2007), and Iron Kissed (2008). Bone Crossed is due out in February 2009.

Brigg’s also told Publisher’s Weekly that the Dabel Brothers will be adapting her works for a series of graphic novels to be released as part of their deal with Random House. She will write the original story for the initial four-issue miniseries. The Dabels gained attention with their work adapting Laurel K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake vampire novels.

Newell is no stranger to genre entertainment having directed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and is currently directing an adaptation of Terry Brooks’ The Elfstones of Shannara.

The 43-year old author has also started a spin-off series set in the same universe starting with 2007’s Alpha and Omega, which was a novella and was followed this year with Cry Wolf.
 

Eight cartoonists have been visiting with American troops recovering from action-related injuries at both Washington’s Walter Reed Hospital and at German’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

According to a report from Stars and Stripes, Chip Bok (editorial cartoonist at Akron Beacon-Journal), Jeff Keane (Family Circus), Rick Kirkman (Baby Blues), Mike Peters (Mother Goose & Grimm), Mike Luchovich (editorial cartoonist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Walt Handlesman (editorial cartoonist for Newsday), Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine), and Tom Richmond (Mad Magazine) have been traveling together along with military artists and others.

The National Cartoonist Society members broke in to groups and scoured the wards, sitting beside soldiers and sketching away, often doing caricatures as they chatted and presenting them as tokens of appreciation.

"You guys are awesome," Jesse Stephenson said upon receiving a drawing. "You guys are awesome."

"You’re awesome," Peters told him in return.

The Motion Picture Association of America has sentenced Punisher: War Zone with an R-rating. According to CHUD, the R was granted for "pervasive strong brutal violence, language and some drug use."

Everyone who watched the red band trailer for Punisher: War Zone saw the exact same thing: disgusting, humiliating, bone-chilling violence at its absolute brainiest. For fans of Garth Ennis’ run on Punisher for Marvel’s MAX imprint, this was a very good sign. But panic broke shortly over speculation that the film would be watered down in pursuit of a PG-13 rating.

The rumors stemmed from reports that director Lexi Alexander had been unceremoniously dropped from the project due to conflicts with Lionsgate. Alexander reportedly disagreed with Lionsgate’s desire to pull punches with the violent content and their desire to use heavy metal music instead of the planned original score. All signs pointed to yet another cajones-free Punisher film.

The granting of the R-rating is sure to cool some fears as it’s likely to stick closer to Alexander’s vision, but the film is still marred with bad history. Thomas Jane, who played Frank Castle in 2004’s The Punisher, notoriously dropped out of Punisher: War Zone back in 2007. In a letter to Ain’t It Cool News, Jane wrote:

"I am, sadly — no, make that heartbrokenly — f*** it — just rip out the heart and stomp it into the pavement a couple of times — pulling out. Punisher fans are already fighting an uphill battle as it is. And I’ve always felt a responsibility to fight that fight for them and with them so that Frank Castle gets the treatment he deserves."

Jane closed the letter by calling the vigilante sequel "a movie that I just don’t believe in."

Many will argue that since The Punisher was universally panned, Jane’s opinion doesn’t amount to much. Still, it’s worth pondering why the acclaimed actor felt so strongly against the project.

Punisher: War Zone centers on Frank Castle facing his most deadly foe yet, Jigsaw. The film, directed by Lexi Alexander, stars Ray Stevenson (Rome), Dominic West (The Wire), Julie Benz (Dexter) and Wayne Knight (Seinfeld). Punisher: War Zone will be released by Lionsgate on December 5, 2008.

The Hollywood Reporter details AMC’s plans to develop Red Mars, a new science fiction series based on the novel of the same name. Jonathan Hensleigh, writer of Armageddon and The Punisher, is on board as writer/executive producer. Michael Jaffe, Howard Braunstein, Vince Gerardis, Ralph Vicinanza and Eli Kirschner will also executive produce.

"[Red Mars] fits in with our bigger vision of wanting series that feel like cinematic one-hour movies," says Christina Wayne, AMC’s senior VP of original series and miniseries. "We’re always looking for big genres but to do them in slightly different ways so they feel fresh and new."

Red Mars, which AMC is touting as character-driven, is based on a 1992 novel by Kim Stanley Robinson. It chronicles the inhabitants of the first human colony on the planet. Robinson wrote two sequels to the novel, titled Green Mars and Blue Mars, as well as several short stories published in The Martians. AMC will certainly have a lot of material to mine for their series.

This is not the first time that Red Mars has threatened to invade television. James Cameron once held the rights to the Mars trilogy, hoping to develop it as a five-hour miniseries to be directed by Martha Coolidge. He eventually passed on the option. Gale Anne Hurd later planned a similar Mars miniseries for the Sci-Fi Channel, but that too never took flight. It remains to be seen whether AMC’s version will follow in the series’ already ill-fated track record.

In addition to Red Mars, AMC is currently developing a separate sci-fi miniseries, The Prisoner. The miniseries is a remake of the 1960s sci-fi series of the same name, with Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen set to star.