Tagged: fan

Oni’s ‘Scott Pilgrim’ Takes on Hollywood

  • News
  • August 31, 2008

scott-pilgrim-5398015The film adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Oni Press series Scott Pilgrim begins shooting this fall for a 2009 release. While Michael Cera (Juno) has been attached to star as Scott, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Live Free or Die Hard) is set as Ramona V. Flowers.

Shaun of the Dead’s Edgar Wright is on board to direct the film, formally titled Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, from the screenplay by Michael Bacall and Wright.

The series consists of six black and white digest-sized graphic novels and tells of 23 year-old Scott’s quest to vanquish Ramona’s evil ex-boyfriends to win her heart.  Starting in 2004, four of the projected six volumes are currently in print.

Winstead told Moviehole, “Yeah! It’s going to be really cool. I’m such a fan of Edgar’s — I can’t believe I’m going to be involved with it. I’m extremely excited about it. I actually just started Kung-Fu training for it today! I’m hoping to be pretty bad-ass by the end of it.”

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Release Delayed

  • News
  • August 17, 2008

hbp7-00-6355381ICv2 reports that Warner Bros. has pushed back the release of the sixth film in the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, due to fallout from the recent Writers Guild strike. Instead of being released on November 21, 2008, the next Harry Potter film will appear in theaters on July 17, 2009. The move is the result of the studio not having any "tentpole" blockbusters scheduled for release during the all-important summer season, as such films’ production would have normally begun during the time period in which the strike occurred.

Harry Potter fans can take heart, however, as it’s also reported that the move shouldn’t have any effect whatsoever on the release of subsequent films in the series.

The shift of The Half-Blood Prince will have no effect on the scheduling of the next Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which will be released in two parts, the first of which will debut in the fall of 2010 followed by the eighth and final Harry Potter film in the summer of 2011.

 

Two of the previous five Harry Potter films have opened during the summer, but the young magician’s rabid fan base will flock to the theaters in any season, which has allowed Warners to schedule the films effectively during either the summer or the winter holiday season.

More on the other films that Half-Blood Prince will now be competing with, as well as the moves made by other studios in the wake of this announcement, can be found over at ICv2.

In case you missed the recently released trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Cinematical has a nice version of it posted on their website.

Indiana Jones Opts For October DVD Release

  • News
  • August 13, 2008

ICv2 reports that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be released on DVD the second week of October. Much like Iron Man, which hits shelves on September 30, the quick turnaround time on the Indiana Jones DVD is part of an effort to generate long-term sales in a crowded DVD market this fall. The fourth Indiana Jones film was the highest-grossing film in the franchise, earning $770 million worldwide.

According to ICv2, the DVD will find its way to shelves in three versions:

The Single-Disc version comes with two extras, "The Return of a Legend,” a feature about the evolution of the new film, and “Pre-Production,” a mini-documentary that follows director Steven Spielberg as he creates animatronic sequences and Shia LeBoeuf as he learns to swordfight. The 2-disc Special Edition contains a host of additional extras created with the collector and the serious fan in mind including “Production Diary: Making Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” a major behind-the-scenes look at all facets of the production, plus seven additional featurettes about various aspects of the filming process (special effects, action sequences, etc.), a special feature about Stan Winston Studio’s contribution to the film, plus galleries galore, production photographs, portraits, storyboards, set sketches and more.

ICv2 also points out that the trio of recent Indiana Jones-themed comics published by Dark Horse in recent months (the adaptation of Crystal Skull and two Indiana Jones omnibus projects) have been selling well, and the DVD release might mean good things for the publisher in October.

ReVamp Vampirella and Win!

  • News
  • August 12, 2008

vampirella19zx0-00-3204157This is pretty much the contest that defines the term "revamp," folks. Harris Comics and the Project: Rooftop crew are looking for aspiring artists to redesign the buxom bombshell Vampirella and win a variety of prizes provided by the Vampirella publisher. Vampirella is celebrating her 40th anniversary next year (not bad for a 40-something, eh?) and interested artists can win the following:

Grand Prize (1) –
The winning entry will appear as a pinup in a future issue of Vampirella, and receive two comics signed respectively by Joe Jusko and Dan Brereton.

Second Prize (1) –
A Vampirella wall poster illustrated by Jose Gonzalez, and receive two comics signed respectively by Joe Jusko and Dan Brereton.

Third Prize (1) –
A Vampirella T-shirt illustrated by Stephen Segovia, and receive two comics signed respectively by Joe Jusko and Dan Brereton.

In addition to these prizes, the finalists selected by the judges will also be up on a fan poll at Vampirella.com for the "Fan Selection" prize of a limited edition Vampirella print.

The judges for the contest are a trio of notable Vampirella names, including original Vampirella costume designer Trina Robbins, frequent series artist Joe Jusko and upcoming Vampirella Quarterly artist Dan Brereton. Send in your submissions to projectrooftop@gmail.com, with the subject line: "ReVamp" — and keep your fingers crossed.

“Resident Evil” and “Devil May Cry” Comics Coming

  • News
  • July 30, 2008

7beb793509a0a5d3feea1110-_aa280_-l-4151943Having previously announced Bionic Commando and Lost Planet comics coming from Devil’s Due, Capcom is bringing even more of their hit games to comic books. In a joint press release with DC Comics, they announced that the WildStorm imprint will publish comics based on Resident Evil and Devil May Cry. Details, like who’s writing and drawing it, or when it will be announced at a later date.

Devil May Cry follows demon fighter Dante in a gothic anime influenced world with over-the-top weapons. It’s been previously released as best-selling manga from Tokyopop, but this will be the first time content has been created by American comic artists.

Jim Lee must really like playing Resident Evil. Back in the pre-DC Comics era, WildStorm published a pretty successful comic/fan magazine based on the horror survival game. If you’re living a sheltered life, Resident Evil tells the story of pseudo-law enforcement officers battling the amoral Umbrella Corporation and their continual involvement in zombie plagues.

On a side note, have you seen the trailer for the Capcom-produced CGI movie Resident Evil: Degeneration that was shown at San Diego Comic-Con? You’ll never travel through an airport the same way again. (Video posted after the jump.)
 

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SDCC: Marvel Adapts ‘Ender’s Game’

  • News
  • July 26, 2008

Marvel continues to expand on its comic adaptations of literary properties with the news out of Comic-Con that a six-issue miniseries of Ender’s Game is on the way.

The famed sci fi series was written by Orson Scott Card, who also has written Ultimate Iron Man for Marvel. The artist on that book, Pasqual Ferry, has signed on for this new Card project, which is scripted by Christopher Yost.

"I’m a fan, a big fan. So talking with him was one of the best experiences that I have had working on comics so far," Ferry told CBR News. "When talk of the adaptation started, Orson sent a lot of explanations and details about environments, outfits ships. It was a nice work of discovery and creativity between [Editor] Nick [Lowe], Orson and me."

Ferry said "Ender’s Game" is rich with quality ideas and concepts, giving the artist plenty to explore and develop when bringing the book to life visually. He gushed, "The human feelings of the characters and his interrelatedness of the work, the incredible quality of the story, the Battle Room action sequences…"

SDCC: Rockne S. O’Bannon Writing ‘Farscape’ Series

  • News
  • July 26, 2008

Back in June at Heroes Con, the joke was made that John Byrne would be working with Mark Waid and Boom! Studios on the upcoming Farscape comics series, which quickly was turned into a bona fide Internet rumor (whoops).

There’s now a no-joke announcement on the Farscape writer, and — surprise, surprise — it’s Rockne S. O’Bannon, who created the TV show. Much like Joss Whedon continuing on Buffy the Vampire Slayer after it’s TV run ended, O’Bannon will pick up where the show left off.

From a release:

"This is a dream opportunity for me – to get to continue the Farscape saga," O’Bannon said. "The comic book series starts off directly where the PEACEKEEPER WARS mini-series left us. It’s like we’re finally getting to experience Season Five of Farscape. Not only that, but the stories in the ongoing comic series will completely tie into the upcoming Farscape webisodes. Farscape lives!"

"I can’t tell you how incredibly excited I am that Rockne will be part of the comic-book team. I’m a fan, and he’s one of the best writers around," said BOOM! Studios Editor-in-Chief Mark Waid. "I’m doubly pleased that both Rockne and The Jim Henson Company folks have responded to the idea of making this series a direct continuation of the FARSCAPE TV series rather than an out-of-continuity tie-in. For fans of FARSCAPE, and with the show’s creator involved, the comic series will fill that outer-space-sized void the show once occupied. In short, it’s going to be frelling awesome!"

For a YouTube video interview with O’Bannon, check the jump.

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‘Heroes’ Hopes for Rebound Season

After a pretty unambiguously down second season, the NBC show Heroes is looking to get the magic back from its debut season that marked it as the network’s most important show.

In an interview with the New York Times, Heroes creator Tim Kring gave some insights into what’s to come, as well as reflecting back on what went wrong last year.

The scale tipped toward disappointment at the start of last season, as Mr. Kring acknowledged in an interview way back in November, just after production was abruptly cut off by the writers’ strike that shut down Hollywood. At that time he cited a list of early missteps, including introducing too many new characters, dabbling too much in romance and depositing one of the fans’ favorite characters, Hiro, in feudal Japan for too long. …

The new volume, which will run in 13 episodes, is called “Villains” and will focus on a single big story line, Mr. Kring said, relying almost totally on its core of main characters, and will return the show to exploring what he called “the primal questions” from Season 1: “Who am I? What is my purpose?”

The third season (volume, whatever) begins on Sept. 22.

The Dark Knight Project

  • News
  • July 20, 2008

What do you do when you desperately want to make a Batman movie, except you have little film-making experience and Warner Bros. doesn’t know you exist?

Well, you just go right ahead and make a Batman movie. At least that’s the thought of Jerry Vasilatos, a Chicago director. He decided to create The Dark Knight Project, essentially a fan movie set between the two new Batman films.

The story follows some Gotham students who try to get video footage of their city’s new vigilante. The expected trouble ensues, as Joker’s gang starts to cause problems.

You can watch the film right here. You can also read quite a bit on the background of the project at Vasilatos’ blog, which is right here.

That "other" Batman movie opened this weekend.

(via Doomkopf)

Comic Books You Can Hear

  • News
  • July 20, 2008

You make no excuses that you’re a superhero fan. You buy your weekly stack of comics. You watch the blockbuster movies. You tune in to the TV shows. How can you possibly cram more superhero adventure in your life? Audiobooks. You can listen to comics while commuting, driving, or walking. (We’re not going to list exercising. We’re talking about fanboys here, after all.)

I just happened on GraphicAudio.net and figured it was worth mentioning here, as the company offers DC Comics based audio adventures and the tagline “A movie in your mind.” The recordings feature full cast, special effects, and musical score. They’re available as an audio CD, an MP3 CD, or as a digital download. They even adapt massive events like 52 and Infinite Crisis.

There are currently seven recordings available:

  • 52: Part 1
  • 52: Part 2
  • Batman: The Stone King
  • Infinite Crisis: Part 1
  • Infinite Crisis: Part 2
  • JLA: Exterminators
  • Superman: The Never Ending Battle

While I lightly mocked fans who buy these, I have to confess, I own the BBC audio adaptations of Batman: Knightfall and The Death and Life of Superman. And I loved them. Anyone know how to convert cassettes into MP3s?

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