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New Indiana Jones Downloads, Photos, Legos Hit The Net

  • News
  • January 16, 2008

The marketing machine for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the latest installment in the Indiana Jones film franchise, appears to be in full swing over the last few days, with various sites, sneak peeks and tie-ins popping up around the ‘Net. The film, which is scheduled for a May 22 release, stars Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone, Karen Allen, John Hurt and Jim Broadbent.

Among the more notable items dug up recently:

  • New downloadable wallpaper, icons and other virtual dressing on the official film site at www.indianajones.com [WARNING: Video and sound launch automatically.]
  • A new website was launched for the Indiana Jones-themed Lego sets, featuring sticker sheets, wallpaper and other Lego goods [WARNING: More automatic video/music]
  • A new photo from the film, featuring Ford, LaBeouf and Winstone

Heck, it’s like having your own, virtual archeological site without all of the dirt, sun and endless hours of dusting! Okay, not really… but if you’re an Indiana Jones fan, you get the idea.

The Batman Saves Len Wein, and other stories

  • News
  • January 16, 2008

Len Wein writes that, had it not been for him blogging the terrific news about how the National Parks Service has added the cover of Batman: Nevermore to the permanent collection at the Edgar Allen Poe National Historic Site in Philadelphia, he might have left the house an hour earlier and become embroiled in a bank robbery.  Notes Len, "The Batman saved my life… again."

Ran into Alex Simmons at the local diner last week, who reminded me that the next Kids’ Comic Con will take place at the Bronx Community College on Saturday, March 29.  Ah, if only that wasn’t the date of my godson’s bar mitzvah!  But no such excuses for the rest of you, particularly as the event will feature the announcement of the finalists in the first-ever KCC Comics Awards!  The deadline for nominations is Valentine’s Day; check out this page for all the categories and to get a nominations form.  The winners will be announced at this year’s New York Comic Con on Kids’ Day, April 20.  And just as a reminder, Alex is also spearheading the Color of Comics exhibit at BCC, opening February 6 and running through mid-March.

For those het gals and gay guys looking for a little more parity in their superheroic objectification, it’s Shirtless Superheroes to the rescue!  Although anyone who’s been to the beach can tell you shirtless men and near-topless women aren’t technically equivalent, it’s still something of a sight for sore eyes.  Although so many six-pack abs in one place does start to look a bit creepy.

Speaking of deadlines and things of interest to female fans, Ginger Mayerson is pleased to announce the first issue of the Journal of Women On Comics, a print compilation of women writing on comics online.  Deadline is February 29, gals! (more…)

Superhero-themed play to land in Manhattan

  • Uncategorized
  • January 16, 2008

In Save the World, a new superhero-themed play set to begin its run in Manhattan later this week, a group of powered-up heroes face trouble from both their enemies and, apparently, themselves. Created by Chris Kipiniak and  Michael Barakiva, the play will open on Jan. 19 for a four-week engagement.

From Playbill.com:

"The superheroes of the Protectorate (Legend, Umbra, Stagger, Prodigy, Quake, Roach, and Future-Knight) fight bravely to protect the earth from a series of seemingly unrelated disasters. But when the unthinkable occurs the team begins to splinter. In their desperate search for the cause of the threat, compromises are made. So are mistakes. With their incredible powers and their human failings, the heroes risk becoming threats themselves to the good they’ve sworn to uphold."

 

Jaden Smith joins Keanu for Day The Earth Stood Still Remake

  • News
  • January 16, 2008

Jaden Smith, the son of actor Will Smith, is the latest cast member to sign on for a remake of the 1951 science-fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still.

Smith will join Keanu Reeves, who has already signed on for the role of Klaatu, the alien who visits Earth and, in the original film, first utters the words "Klaatu, barada, nikto." The phrase was later borrowed – and forever enshrined in cult film history – by the Evil Dead film franchise. Jaden will play Jacob, the stepson of scientist Helen Benson, played by Jennifer Connelly.

According to Reuters:

"Klaatu’s arrival on Earth triggers a global upheaval as governments and scientists race to unravel the mystery behind his appearance. Jacob and Helen get caught up in Klaatu’s mission, coming to understand the ramifications of his being a self-described ‘friend to the Earth.’"

The film will be directed by Scott Derrickson.

Superman beaten by WGA strike?

  • News
  • January 16, 2008

It’s beginning to look like the WGA might have accomplished what years of evil scheming and diabolical machinations were never able to achieve: the death of Superman.

According to Variety, "nothing is happening" with Superman: Man of Steel, the planned sequel to 2006’s Superman Returns. The writers’ strike has proven to be yet another, very large nail in the coffin of Warner Bros. plans for a new Superman franchise, as the picket lines halted studio production shortly after the screenwriters for the 2006 film, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, opted out of the sequel. No screenwriters are currently tied to the project, and even the return of Superman Returns director Bryan Singer to the helm of the sequel remains uncertain.

From Variety:

"For now, the next Superman auds will see on the bigscreen will not be Brandon Routh but a younger Superman among a cast of youthful DC superheroes in George Miller’s The Justice League. That movie likely will not be shot, however, until after the WGA strike is resolved."

At this time, Warner Bros. has moved Superman: Man of Steel back to a tentative 2010 release.

New promotion for The Dark Knight puts celebrities on the spot

  • News
  • January 16, 2008

Seriously, what criminal mastermind thinks this stuff up?

Last month, singer John Mayer found himself on the receiving end of a clever new promotion for The Dark Knight, the upcoming sequel to Batman Begins. Apparently, the crew at Warner Bros. has targeted celebrities with the next phase of their marketing push for the July 2008 release, sending packages from "Gotham Novelties, Inc." to unsuspecting recipients around the entertainment industry. Within the box, Mayer found a Joker playing card and promotional shirt, both scrawled in red with the character’s taglines.

"High five, marketing genius…" wrote Mayer in a post on his blog about the package.

Warner Bros. efforts in the realm of viral marketing for "Dark Knight" have become the stuff of InterWebs legends, with many sites praising the strategies and cataloging the complicated steps necessary to complete certain promotions.

More photos of the package and Mayer’s thoughts on the new promotion can be found on his site.

Food, Glorious Food, by Elayne Riggs

  • News
  • January 16, 2008

elayne100-5893350For the last week of job searches and interviews, I’ve not been very immersed in pop culture, unless one counts giggling at some Craigslist classifieds. I’ve kept up my blog reading, I’ve played computer games, I’ve suffered the first couple of plothole-ridden episodes of the Terminator TV series for a few minutes each, I’m up to Oz book #16, I’m through most of my DCU comics from November/December, the usual consumption. And it occurred to me — consumption. There’s a huge foodie contingent out there, which more and more resembles other pop culture fandom, so why not pontificate about food this week? After all, everybody eats. Even Stephen Colbert has been known to down the grits and lo mein on his show, and who can forget the immortal Eddie Izzard "<a href=”

or Death" routine?

As a woman of some girth and experience, I have a love-hate relationship with food. I unapologetically love food itself, the pleasure it gives me to eat a satisfying and delicious meal, even to prepare one. But I hate the way corporations and people (most of whom don’t even know me) take it upon themselves to lecture me about my food intake, particularly when I’ve never sought their advice, based solely on my outward appearance. I despise our current Culture of Deprivation, which in reality consists of mixed messages since we’re also encouraged to decadently indulge at the same time. I despair that "moderation" seems to be such a dirty word in our world of extremes.

I grew up with the relatively moderate Four Food Groups chart (grains, fruits & vegs, meat and dairy). This predated the modern Food Pyramid, which presumes to advise people not only on how to vary their diets but on the proportions the USDA deems appropriate. Of course I implicitly trust a government agency among whose tasks it is to inspect meat and yet there’s all this e-coli and mad cow and goodness knows what else. And hey, the current acting Secretary of Agriculture is the ex-president of the Corn Refiners Association, so I guess we’ll all be hearing scads about how bad high-fructose corn syrup is for us, being probably the highest contributing factor in the decline of culinary health in this country. So you can see where I maintain a healthy skepticism toward changing food standards (like changing weight standards, beauty standards, etc.). People aren’t charts, and what works well for one doesn’t necessarily succeed for another.

  (more…)

The Black Dahlia’s Anniversary

  • News
  • January 15, 2008

Today in 1947, the the body of Elizabeth Short was found in Leimert Park, Los Angeles. Perhaps unpleasant to admit, the savagely disfigured corpse of the girl, better known as the "Black Dahlia," did indeed provide inspiration for the latest Hollywood storytellers, video game artists and even credible contemporary writers.  Joyce Carole Oates used Short as a character in her novel, Blonde and the late John Gregory Dunne and his wife Joan Didion used the murder in their screenplay for the film, True Confessions.

Spoiler alert: Let’s not ignore the more obvious and well known inspired tale (can we really call it "inspired," though?), the recent flop, The Black Dahlia (starring Hillary Swank, Josh Hartnett and a hilariously creepy Fiona Shaw).  Always bring in the trusty Brits to nail the quirky bad-guy role, right? But seriously, Hillary Swank as a noir vixen? That’s stretching any audience’s suspension of disbelief–yet I digress. Lastly, Black Dahlia was also the name of a video game in which the player had to solve the mysery of Short’s death, and then beat the Nazis. OK, sure. Hey at least Dennis Hopper was a featured voice.

Getting Smurfy again in ’08

  • News
  • January 15, 2008

Even a full-scale bombing can’t keep a good Smurf down. Last seen in <a href=”

controversial UNICEF ad, the blue-skinned, three-apples-high Smurfs appear to have survived their encounter with the horrors of war and are making a comeback for their 50th anniversary.

2008 looks to be a blue-ribbon year for the inhabitants of Smurf Village with the debut of a new 3-D film, television series and comics dedicated to the adventures of Papa Smurf, Brainy and the rest of the Smurfs, as well as their eternal foe, Gargamel.

According to CBC:

"An ‘invasion’ of projects about Belgian illustrator Pierre (Peyo) Culliford’s best known characters will begin later this month and end in October, the actual 50th anniversary, officials from IMPS, the group controlled by Peyo’s family and rights holder for the Smurfs, said Monday."

Sounds smurfy!

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