Journey to the far corners of your imagination with Willow, for the first time ever on stunning Blu-ray!  Written and produced by George Lucas and directed by Ron Howard, the film tells a timeless fantasy tale in which heroes come in all sizes…and adventure is the greatest magic of all.  In celebration of its 25^th anniversary, the unforgettable classic has been fully digitally restored and debuts on Blu-ray and DVD Combo Pack March 12, 2013 from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

The Willow Blu-ray and DVD include a dazzling array of extras with never-before-seen exclusive content such as deleted scenes with remarks from Ron Howard, a personal video diary of Warwick Davis, matte paintings and much more. In addition, look out for Ron Howard’s new introduction for the original 1988 featurette “The Making of an Adventure,” as well as special effect legend Dennis Muren’s new intro to his piece, “From Morf to Morphing: The Dawn of Digital Filmmaking.”

Special Features include:

• NEW – Willow: Deleted Scenes with Ron Howard
• NEW – Willow: An Unlikely Hero – Personal Video Diary of Warwick Davis
• The Making of an Adventure with an all new introduction from Ron Howard
• From Morf to Morphing with an all new introduction from Dennis Muren
• Matte Paintings
• Easter Egg
  

Our friends at Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment have given us two copies to giveaway. Entries must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, March  13. The decision of ComicMix is final. In order to win your very own copy of Willow on Blu-ray Combo Pack, simply answer the following question:

What did Ron Howard direct immediately after Willow?

• Gung Ho
• Parenthood
• Apollo 13
• Grand Theft Auto
• A Beautiful Mind

 

A fractured, ruined world where forgotten, legendary creatures live and thrive in towering mountains, magical forests, and barren deserts. Angelique Bosc and her allies will traverse harsh, nightmarish landscapes to discover the secrets of the past, stabilize events in the present day, and unlock the  
mysteries of the future as they journey to CADAVER ISLAND!

Pro Se Productions Proudly Presents CADAVER ISLAND, the debut novel from Author Kevin Rodgers!

In the year 2212, long after the world has been reshaped by seismic cataclysms and polar shifts, Princess Angelique Bosc recovers from a terrible Hovercraft accident, which left her injured and near death. Her friend and physician, Dr. Laurent Stine, used his skills as a robotics engineer to replace her damaged organs with android components. Angelique realizes that her mechanical heart will require a fresh battery pack within 48 hours. However, a loathed and exiled warlock, Xavier Thames, steals all of the battery packs and transports them to his castle, Thames Keep, in order to build a time machine. Angelique, Dr. Stine, and their allies are forced to embark on a long, perilous trek to Thames Keep located on Cadaver Island. Can they reach Thames Keep and replace Angelique’s battery pack before she goes into cardiac arrest?

“Kevin Rodgers,” stated Tommy Hancock, Partner in and Editor in Chief of Pro Se Productions, “is one of the strongest new voices in Genre Fiction.   Able to write well in any genre, Kevin has excelled at the sort of cross genre mash up type stories that today’s readers enjoy.   One of our more prolific contributors to Pro Se Presents, our magazine, Kevin can chill, thrill, and excite readers as well as any author.   Pro Se is more than proud to be publishing not only Kevin’s debut novel, but the first in a trilogy guaranteed to Cadaver Island is the first installment of a trilogy by Author Kevin Rodgers, replete with all the horror, action, and adventure Kevin’s work is known for.”

Featuring stunning artwork by Ariadne Soares of Fitztown and mindblowing design and format by Sean Ali, Cadaver Island is a nonstop futuristic horror thriller guaranteed to chill and amaze! From Pro Se Productions, a leader in Genre and New Pulp Fiction!

CADAVER ISLAND is now available at Amazon HERE and via Pro Se’s CreateSpace eStore at https://www.createspace.com/4198141 for $15.00.  And coming soon in Ebook for your Kindle, Nook, and other devices for only $2.99!

NBC’s COMMUNITY has had more than a few changes this run of episodes and series regular, Allison Brie, shares how her character “Annie” will be dealing with “Jeff” (Joel McHale), plus Danny Pudi talks about how the show is still an undiscovered gem to a lot of TV watchers. Plus get set for the biggest DOCTOR WHO Con ever – and zombies are headed to Riverdale.

Take us ANYWHERE! The Point Radio App is now in the iTunes App store – and it’s FREE! Just search under “pop culture The Point”. The Point Radio  – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or on any other  mobile device with the Tune In Radio app - and follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.

This month’s anniversary Doctor Who e-book will be penned by British author Marcus Sedgwick, writer of the acclaimed novel Floodland,

The Spear of Destiny features The Doctor in his third incarnation and his assistant Jo Grant as they attempt to retrieve Odin’s spear Gungnir. Marcus notes an interesting parallel between “mythology and legend”, as he puts it – Odin was hung on the World Tree for nine days, until finally his side was pierced by his own weapon, the spear Gungnir. This same even would re-appear in Christian dogma as part of of the Crucifixion.

Braking from the previous two books, Mr. Sedgwick has elected to bring back a classic Who villain.  And this being the Pertwee era Doctor, there could be no more iconic villain that The Master.

Mr Sedgwick’s response to writing for the classic her is appropriately calm and reserved. from his Blog:

Doctor Who is iconic. There is no other word for it. It’s now been a part of British culture for 50 years. 50! That’s a lot. So I admit that when I finally sat down to write the opening words of my story, I had a sudden freeze. Hands poised over the keyboard, I thought “Holy -insert-your-own-expletive-here-, this is Doctor Who! Doctor Who!”

Following the practice of the previous releases, The Spear of Destiny will be released on the 23rd.  Pre-orders are available at Amazon.com.

Instead of having a calendar, I have a newspaper (kids: ask your parents). If it’s Tuesday, it’s Science Times. Wednesday it’s Dining. Thursday, my favorite, has Style and Home. Friday is two Arts sections. Saturday is Charles Blow.

And Monday shines a spotlight on the commerce in media in the business section.

This is great for me, because I write this column on Tuesday. This week, there was a discussion of the new Disney film, Oz the Great and Powerful, opening this weekend.  It’s a big gamble for Disney, investing in characters they don’t own, at a time when many expensive fantasy films have not performed to expectations (I’m looking at you, Jack the Giant Slayer).

Hollywood is always looking for the next big thing. At the same time, the people making the financial decisions can be very conservative, especially when we’re talking big-budget special effects. So I guess what I mean is, Hollywood is always looking for the next big sure thing.

The problem is that money people are not always good judges about what the public will like. If it was only a question of appealing to the lowest common denominator, that would be simple, and the multiplex would play all Twilight all the time. That might bring in a steady rate of return, but eventually, the public would get bored and want to see something else. And that something else might cost a lot less than Twilight, and, while that movie not make Twilight money, would make a much more for each dollar invested.

This is why the movie companies look for ideas in other media. This is why they adapt stories from novels, or television shows, or even comic books.

Which brings me to the other story in Monday’s paper. David Carr wrote about The Walking Dead, and how it is more successful on cable’s AMC than many shows on the broadcast networks.

I haven’t been reading the comic, although Robert Kirkman is one of my son’s favorite writers. Still, I’m not surprised the show is so successful. Through dozens of issues, Kirkman wrote characters that appealed to people, that engaged them in a story. Other comics have spawned successful series on television, including Superman (with and without Lois in the title), Superboy, Flash, the Incredible Hulk and Green Arrow.

Comics have been less consistently successful as movies, and I think that’s because the producers do not have to rely as much on character. They seem to think a few good fight scenes will make up for ridiculous plots and people. Look at the difference in the way the Hulk was portrayed on television and on screen right up until The Avengers.

I think the difference is that Joss Whedon understands comics and why they are appealing. He’s actually written them. He has respect for the idea that the action flows from the character, not the other way around. He knows how to tell a character that has proven herself.

Which brings me to this week’s other hot topic. My old pal, Jerry Ordway, wrote a blog post about how difficult it is for comic creators of a certain age to get work. Jerry worked on the death and return of Superman story lines, the bestselling comics of all time. He continues to do work of excellent quality, but because he’s not the flavor of the month, he can’t get any assignments.

Other mass-market entertainment doesn’t play by these rules. Yes, it’s smart to always be scouting hot young talent, because it’s hot and it’s young. Even so, booksellers always want the next Stephen King book, or John Grisham, or J. K. Rowlings, and iTunes pushes Elvis Costello and Judy Collins. Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg still make movies.

The market appreciates proven talent because, well, it’s been proven. It would be great if comic book companies appreciated it too.

SATURDAY: Marc Alan Fishman

SUNDAY: John Ostrander