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‘Fear(s) of The Dark’ Comes To the UK

  • News
  • September 27, 2008

fearsStarting October 3, the critically acclaimed animated horror film Fear(s) of the Dark will be getting distribution in cinemas across the United Kingdom, before it makes it’s way over to the US later that month by IFC.

The film, which won Official Selection at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, among a dozen other awards, is an anthology of six intertwined black-and-white segments that represent a girl’s different fears. Aside from being having having astounding reviews by both critics and professionals alike, the film brings together several international comic creators for the segments.

Coming together on the film are Blutch (from the French comic Dungeon), Italian comic artist Lorenzo Mattotti, cartoonist Charles Burns, french artist Marie Caillou, designer Pierre Di Sciullo, and graphic artist Richard McGuire.

The premiere is currently set for September 30th in London, and if you are in the area, you may even be able to score passes from your friends here at ComicMix (more details coming soon). For now, check out the international trailer below and look for Fear(s) of the Dark to make it’s way to American theaters Friday, October 24.

 
 

IDW’s Presidential Tour

  • News
  • September 27, 2008

IDW has announced signing tour dates for the creators behind the two eagerly anticipated bio-comics featuring presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. Additionally, both comics will be made available for download to mobile phones.

The application is accessible to most cell phones in America through http://m.gocomics.com, while iPhone users can order the comics through Apple.  This may be the first time comic books will have the same in store and download date.

“It’s only fitting that in this historic election that we break new ground in the publishing and online media worlds with the first ever simultaneous release of these graphic novels in both print and on mobile phones. It is also a great move for our democracy to make these beautiful candidate biographies universally available,” said Uclick CEO Douglas Edwards in a release.

The comics have garnered IDW a fair amount of publicity being the first time the candidates have been profiled in graphic form during a campaign.  The publisher has stressed that writers Jeff Mariotte and Andrew Helfer did independent research on both men and tried to present fair interpretations of their lives, providing additional background to readers who may not be as familiar with the candidates through traditional news media. (more…)

Maverick Is Their Name, by Martha Thomases

  • News
  • September 27, 2008

 

My friend Stephanie is a proud Texan, even though she’s lived in Manhattan for more than three decades. You can still hear Texas in her voice. She’s about as far from the stereotype as you can get, not a cowgirl,  nor a big-haired society type, she’s a fine artist with a rock’n’roll heart. And, as you can see here, she has an affection for the rock stars of comics as well.

Still, the Texan remains. Stephanie has a pride in her home state that is far deeper and more profound than I feel for mine. She knows her state history. I wasn’t surprised that she knew enough to send me this link. I was just surprised at what it said:

It didn’t bother us when Ford Motor Company used the Maverick family name for their new car. We didn’t care that Tom Cruise’s character in Top Gun was named Maverick, and we were amused when Madonna used our name for her record label. It is part of the American vernacular. But when McCain and the media placed it in a political context, using the maverick label as the centerpiece of his presidential campaign, each and every member of this family was appalled. We continue to be. –Fontaine Maverick

Did you know there were real people with the name “Maverick?” I didn’t. I thought it started in the 1950s with the television show starring James Garner.

And to make this a bit about comics, don’t you think the young James Garner should have starred in a Spirit movie? He looks exactly like Denny Colt.

In fact, this is a lot about comics. Although I’m not current on the specifics of the law, I believe that the Maverick family does not retain legal ownership of their name for commercial use. By allowing it to be used so frequently and generically in the past, they’ve surrendered it to common usage.

However, just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s right. The contract Siegel and Shuster signed for Superman with DC was legal, and DC had no legal obligation to pay them more money. However, giving them a cut was the right thing to do, and, thanks to the efforts of people like Neal Adams and Paul Levitz, the creators received a portion of what was due to them.

  (more…)

Spielberg eyes Another Fantasy Project

  • Uncategorized
  • September 27, 2008

salwowski-wyndham-chocky-6097144The late John Wyndham’s Chocky has been optioned by DreamWorks for director Steven Speilberg who has named it his next directorial project.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is about “a boy who has a mysterious imaginary friend with whom he frequently argues. As the boy’s father gets increasingly suspicious, it becomes clear that an alien entity has taken up residence in the boy’s consciousness.”

The announcement though comes during the very public breakup between DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures and this film may become one of several projects caught up in the tug of war.

Other films equally in limbo are The Trial of the Chicago 7, an Abraham Lincoln/Civil War epic scripted by Tony Kushner; Platinum Studios’ Cowboys and Aliens, with Robert Downey Jr. still attached; and The 39 Clues.

‘Lethal Weapoon 5’ Awaits Gibson Green Light

  • News
  • September 27, 2008

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that a script for Lethal Weapon 5 is completed and all the franchise awaits is Mel Gibson’s blessing. Apparently, producer Joel Silver is trying to get a commitment from Gibson to appear once more opposite Danny Glover as the duo of Murtaugh and Riggs.  The script, from Shane Black, would introduce two new and younger cops from New York.  Black would also take over the director’s chair from Richard Donner.

Currently, Gibson is shooting Edge of Darkness in Boston while Glover will be seen next month in the feature Blindness. Black was just signed by Universal earlier this week to write and director Cold Warrior.
 

Megan Fox to Play Lead in ‘Fathom’

  • Uncategorized
  • September 27, 2008

Megan FoxSince this year’s tragic death of comic creator Micheal Turner, many of his projects that were in production were put to rest, but recent news came through that the film adaptation of Turner’s acclaimed series Fathom may have gotten some new juice.

The film has been in production since late 2001, when James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment owned the rights. Things were in limbo for a while, and according to IESB, the film was recently acquired by 20th Century Fox, to be produced under their independent department Fox Atomic. The studio is currently putting the franchise out to several writers that they are hoping would revamp the script for use as a genre vehicle for Megan Fox. Those know Fox from last year’s Transformers, playing opposite Shia Lebouf, and sources say that she has officially signed on to the project as lead character Aspen.

For those unaware, Fathom is about Aspen Matthews, an young amnesiac who is found aboard a cruise ship which arrives 10 years after it was thought to have disappeared. She is adopted by naval officer Captain Matthews and while growing up, develops a unique fascination with the ocean. Aspen’s love for the water only grows, as she excels in swimming and even won the gold for her Olympic swimming team. Aspen later uncovers that she’s not human, but a member of the world of the Blue. She later discovers her great water-based powers and uncovers her whole history.

Fathom was originally published by Top Cow Comics in 1998 and finished the first volume in 2002. It was then taken up by Turner’s own publishing company Aspen and is currently being released with Volume 3 #1 debuting on August 6 of this year. You can also see Megan Fox next in How to Lose Friends & Alienate People out this year and returning as Mikaela Banes in next summer’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. She will also be seen next year in Diablo Cody’s Jennifer’s Body.

Stanton Reimagines ‘John Carter of Mars’

  • News
  • September 27, 2008

Pixar’s Andrew Stanton said that he and Mark Andrews are spending the rest of this year on the script adaptation to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars. The director told Sci FI Wire that their approach is more about taking what they recalled best from the epic science fiction tale rather than a literal translation.

"I’m going to do what I remember more than what they exactly do," Stanton told a group interview yesterday.

Pixar’s General Manager, Jim Morris, commented, "Everything that’s been out there has been an attempt to kind of capture this Deco-esque [Frank] Frazetta vision of John Carter, which I think feels old and stale. And where Stanton is going — from what we’ve seen so far — is very different than that. And I think that the people who really love the essence of the books will really dig it, but so will audiences in general."

As for the new look, Morris said, "John Carter is in its very early stages and there is much to figure out about that so we’d be premature. We are looking at a variety of different approaches and techniques for that … We’re kind of a bit early in the development of that.

"I’m sure I speak for all of the science fiction geeks, fans and aficionados when I say it’s finally time to see that movie. And I, for one, am delighted that Andrew Stanton is the guy that’s making the movie, because he’s a story-driven guy."

Despite an abandoned attempt by Disney to animate the story of a Civil War soldier somehow transported to Mars, the film has been repeatedly option for film but never getting in front of the cameras.  The stories have been adapted for comic books throughout the years with interpretations from both DC Comics and Marvel Comics.
 

‘newt’ Replaces ‘Cars 2’ in 2012

  • News
  • September 26, 2008

Disney’s big announcement that Cars 2 would move from 2011 to 2012 garnered a lot of attention but the question has since turned to, what will families be offered in 2012?

The answer turns out to be…newt.  Slash Film is reporting that the project required more development time so the swap actually benefits the new property.

Sound designer Gary Rydstrom makes his directorial debut with the CGI-animated Pixar production.  He previously directed the short film Lifted which audiences saw prior to Ratatouille.

The plot synopsis from the studio: “What happens when the last remaining male and female blue-footed newts on the planet are forced together by science to save the species, and they can’t stand each other? Newt and Brooke embark on a perilous, unpredictable adventure and discover that finding a mate never goes as planned, even when you only have one choice. Love, it turns out, is not a science."

knight-rider-02-9650238

Surprise! ‘Knight Rider’ not 1st to be Canceled

  • Uncategorized
  • September 26, 2008

knight-rider-02-9650238For those betting on Knight Rider being the first cancellation of the new season, you lose.  Despite the critical and ratings drubbing the premiere episode received this week, the honor of first to face the axe is Fox’s Do Not Disturb which is now off the schedule.  While not officially canceled, all signs point to the sitcom not coming back.

An additional episode of the somewhat funnier ‘Til Death will round out the schedule until further notice.

Court Rules Tolkien Heirs Cannot Seek Punitive Damages Against New Line

  • News
  • September 26, 2008

hobbit-1690698Trying to follow the lengthy legal entanglements between parties over beloved properties is never fun or easy.  Just as you forget about a lingering case, it re-enters the headlines.  Such is the case with the court ruling this week that J.R.R. Tolkien’s estate can not seek punitive damages from New Line Cinema over profits earned by the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

According to the AP story, “New Line’s attorneys successfully argued that Tolkien’s heirs had to demonstrate a ‘public wrong’ under New York law – which governs the contracts – to claim punitive damages if they win at trial. Jones ruled that the heirs’ grievance ‘is clearly seeking to vindicate private wrongs’.”

The laws suit continues to move toward its October 2009 trial date as the estate is suing for $150 million in compensatory damages in a breach of contract suit.  Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ann I. Jones ruled this week that the plaintiffs have established a legal basis for the fraud claim against the studio which is a part of Time Warner.

Among the claims are that millions in profits were funneled into an advertising expense line and offices built in New Zealand for production of the Lord of the Rings trilogy have subsequently been used for other studio projects.

The estate claims they have yet to see money despite the trilogy earning some $6 billion. As a result, they are seeking the court to order the currently planned two film adaptation of The Hobbit to be halted.
 

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